Tuesday, May 27

ever since we went to yy's place to bake cookies for fundraising, there was this interest to want to try to bake something on my own but i've always thought it won't be possible now because i don't have an oven at home...but i became excited on sat when she told me the microwave oven can be used to bake stuff too so on sunday morning, i decided to try my hands on baking cookies..bought the ready-cookie mix so there wasn't much preparation needed to be done, so its rather gd for first-timers lk me...




the cookies turned out to be really nice..i really liked the taste a lot, very proud of it..its almost lk famous amos ones except for that there's no smell which u can detect from miles away...will attempt to try more stuff in future lk brownies and muffins and different kinds of cookies as well...

jel; 6:54 pm

Sunday, May 25

was watching the sichuan charity show on channel 8 last night..there were many moving stories of the victims and regarding the earthquake there but one particular story which moved me and i believe many more who heard it was abt how a particular mum sacrificed her life, wrapped her body in such a way so as to protect her baby child from the rumbles of the building...the baby child was formed unharmed in the arms of the dead body of the mum and found in the clothes of the child was a handphone with a typed message saying:

Dear child, if you are still surviving, pls know that I love you

That moves my heart, knowing how big the love a parent has for her child...in fact this is real-life parallel example for how great God's love is so great and unconditional, that He sent His son, Jesus to die for me on the cross so that I, who believe in Him, can be saved and have eternal life...it allows me to understand more of a parent's heart for the child, a love thats unconditional, thats so great that its hard to fathom at times., yet its all possible through God...

even as we express our heart-felt sympathies for the sichuan victims, let us not forget how great God's love can be, how big God can be, that in the midst of the troubles and worries, He can bring hope and light to the lost, to restore the lives to all who turn to Him. Amen

jel; 10:34 pm

Saturday, May 24

well basically wj gave me the idea of blogging this down, so yup..last night we went to this korean restaurant for dinner at circular road..its an authentic korean place, koreans running the restaurant and with a majority korean customers...we had this korean steamboat which i enjoyed a lot...its very satisfying as its not only gd but comes in a large portion too...

basically, this consists of many kinds of vegetables (as described in the menu) and beef with ramen inside as well and each of us only paid 16 dollars, definitely value for money..

then we went to catch the opening show for the arts fest along boat quay..its called water fools by a foreign act...there was close to 10,000 pple there (as reported in today's straits times) which i believed so since its the first time i saw crowds of pple lining along both sides of the singapore river...the whole act was conducted on water..not too sure what the storyline is but basically consists of pple riding on water on unconventional stuff like bed, cars, bicycle..

unexpectedly, there was fireworks, so the audience was treated to this 1-min long worth of fireworks...

you can catch it over these 2 nights as well, its still on and its free, so anyone can catch a glimpse of the performance along the river, definitely a unique form of presentation of art shows here in spore...

jel; 11:37 am

Tuesday, May 20

Just to share some thoughts regarding the YN Re-encounter over the weekend...

Before the retreat, God showed me two things: to come for this retreat not having any condemnation of myself but instead with emptiness in my heart to desire for Him and having firm foundations of my faith so that Christianity will not be a leap of faith into uncertainty, but a step of faith into certainty of a life lived, died and resurrected. Bearing just these, I went for the retreat, waiting for God to fulfill His purposes for me...

During the retreat, God showed me that my lack of having an eternal mindset...

1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
-Colossians 3

Living out these words is the key to experiencing my total freedom in Christ, for I do not need to be bonded by the earthly things which tend to trap me and thus preventing me from experiencing the total freedom. I will continue to mediate upon Colossians 3:1-17 to help me overcome my bondage and experience the freedom I need...

After the retreat,what I really experienced was the deeper hunger for God. The retreat didn’t satisfy my hunger but there was a moment of great joy on the second night during worship, a joy which I have not felt for a long time but I desire a greater level of joy in God which I believe I will receive as I hunger for more of Him. Ironically, I ended the retreat with the same want as what I want to receive from the retreat at the start. However, this desire comes after a greater conviction and understanding of the roots of my faith. This retreat is definitely the first church event which I’m not satisfied with what I’ve received and leave me wanting for a bigger spiritual breakout in my life.

jel; 10:56 pm

Friday, May 16

spent a lazy day today...no plans, no schedules to meet, no friends to meet, just me alone, bumping around the gym and orchard today...sometimes i just enjoy such lazy days, impromptu plans, taking my time hanging around places i like...of course, such privileges only come once in a while and restricted to it lest it gets meaningless and boring...its only great when u needed that one day of rest amidst packed days...

anw, i guess my lazy days might stretch through this extended weekend through a different way...3 days re-encounter at jb's sofitel's beach resort...may it indeed be a re-encounter with God through a rest in Him...

jel; 11:24 pm

Wednesday, May 14

have been out and ard different places the past few days...sometimes i wish i can slow down the pace a little but i'm thankful that its been fulfilling thus far...

was at pageone today looking through for ideas with the rag team and was just flooded with books to browse through..as i was looking through all the different books from the related genres, i was drawn mainly to books which have always been my interests...photography, craft, design, advertising media, architecture, drawing are some of th types of books which draws my attention whenever i'm at the bookstore and i realize they are all related one way or another, under one big central genre...

i guess all these reflect a part of me which is seldom explored upon but i guess i've always taken every opportunity to spend some time on these hobbies..well, but i guess all these will just remain as hobbies and done for interest...

to end off this post, pls be praying for the many victims who have been affected by natural disasters recently...its saddening to see such devastating news but may they recover from these situations as soon as possible and pick up their lives from when they've left..

jel; 10:57 pm

Sunday, May 11

have been listening to this song very frequently recently...

Walk By Faith by Jeremy Camp

Will I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Help me to rid my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

yeah, yeah , yeah, yeah, ya

well i will walk by faith
even when i cannot see
because this broken road
prepares your will for me

do watch his acoustic performance on youtube...love this song simply by how much is being spoken through these simple words of the chorus...to walk by faith even when i cannot see, because this broken road prepares your will for me...it meant so much personally, not only for camp but to me as well..indeed, this road is tough, no one ever says its easy but it is the road that God has prepared for me and i will walk through this journey by faith, not based on my own understanding or by my own will...Lord, let me not lean on the understanding of Man but choose to obey You as I put my trust on You to bring me through this narrow and tough road ahead...

May this be my prayer for my life journey in God..In God I trust.

jel; 9:52 pm

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
You scored as a Visual&PerformingArts
You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in the Visual or Performing Arts (e.g., Art, Art Education, Art History, Ceramics, Culinary Arts, Dance, Drawing, Fashion Design, Film, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Marketing (advertising), Music, Music Education, Music Theory, Painting, Photography, Theatre).

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it.

Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal.
Visual&PerformingArts
94%
Psychology/Sociology
75%
Biology/Chemistry/Geology
69%
PoliticalScience/Philosophy
69%
HR/BusinessManagement
63%
Education/Counseling
63%
English/Journalism/Comm
63%
Religion/Theology
56%
History/Anthropology/LiberalArts
50%
French/Spanish/OtherLanguage
50%
Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health
50%
Accounting/Finance/Marketing
44%
Physics/Engineering/Computer
44%
Mathematics/Statistics
31%

ok although the quiz may show 'interesting' findings but its just a quiz which i would trust in totally cause it doesn't mean anything practical in that sense...surprisingly physics ranked very lowly but i still believe it is the course that God has placed me in...and the top 2 results are rather surprising too...hmmm...maybe there is an artistic performing genes hidden within me yet to be discovered?? we'll wait and see...

jel; 12:30 am

Saturday, May 10

Finally, my exams are over..after a seemingly long period of preparation, it is finally over!!! just a short reflection upon this period of exam preparation...

The contact I have with people was kept to the minimum due to my preparation for my examinations,,but it was not at all lonely. Somehow as more time is spent alone, I had more time to spend with God instead. Throughout the whole 5 weeks, when I was alone at home, there was much time spent with God, with His presence with me as I spent my time studying. It was so much in contrast with how I’ve felt in the past when I got along with the daily activities or in school, time spent with Him was not as much and now as I reflected upon this period, I realized there was a lot of catch up in time spent with Him. If it wasn’t for this period of study, it wouldn’t have ‘forced’ me to spend more time alone and as a result spend more time with God.

This caused me to draw closer to God and trusting more in Him in my life. I do thank God for all that He has done for me during this period of time as I experience His hands of work in my life throughout many occasions during this period. My preparations for my examinations were so much better as compared to last semester, being more prepared for my examinations. Many reasons can be factored in for this but I believe the most important is the spiritual growth which He has placed in me that enabled me to trust Him. In fact I was quite relaxed almost throughout this period of time.

Furthermore, I’m proud of what God has done in me as I made the commitment not to miss any dance practice and classes. Even during this period of time, I continued to attend the regular weekly dance practice and dance class and I’ve also attended all my SOL3 classes too. With all these commitments, I prayed that He will help me finish my preparation with whatever time I have left, choosing to trust in Him and indeed through His grace, I managed to finish whatever I needed and even have time to spare so well...

I’ve received much reward already as a result of obedience, with a better preparation for the examinations, a spiritual growth and even the examinations itself in which I find more confident in. Well, ultimately how the results turn to be will not be of my concern as I won’t define my rewards in terms of examination results. It really depends on how the rest of my cohort does for their papers and I really leave it to God to take charge. I choose to find my joy in Him and that’s something I value more.

I praise Him for the personal breakthrough in my life which I’ve experienced during this period of time!

jel; 11:47 pm

Wednesday, May 7

two more days to go...its being a long long journey since the preparation for my exams and it definitely is long...many of my friends have already finished their exams but i will continue on for the last 2 days!

jel; 6:48 pm

Friday, May 2

recent news abt how foreign china workers employed as beer promoters threaten the older Singaporean promoters prompted yet another round of discussions abt the threat of foreign workers in Singapore....well, feedback from PM in today's straits times mentioned that having the presence of foreign talent will help the economy overall and that because of them, jobs are created...

well i do agree to his comments on a large scale as foreign workers, who can be rather hardworking and possibly more talented do help in many sectors of our economy, increasing the competitiveness of our global economy..however, despite the benefits to the overall view, what abt on the small scale, the people who are directly affected by the presence of these foreign workers who cause them to lose their jobs as a result of direct competition? what abt a scenario where the singaporean beer promoter who could lose her job because the beer company decides to hire cheaper and more hardworking china workers?

yes, maybe the beer company could earn more money as business improve and the coffeeshop gets more customers and that translate to better business..all these are benefits in the bigger sense..but if we put the focus on that beer promoter who lose her job, will the better businesses of the beer company and coffeeshop benefit her? maybe in a very indirect manner but by and large, she still has to suffer from a lose of job and a need to find another...her life is thus affected...

just to give another scenario more closely related to me...more foreign students are admitted into nus on a yearly basis and these people up the standards and as a result, those singaporeans who fare less well are denied a place in locally-funded universities..yes, ultimately on a larger scale, there are benefits..local students strive a more competitive environment, nus gets more recognition with its large percentage of foreign students...but what abt those singaporeans who end up being denied a place in universities? they could end up paying much more to enter private ones in order to further their studies although their results are not exactly that bad....

my stand is i'm not against the presence of foreign workers or students in singapore..its all part of globalisation which we have to embrace and i personally have foreign friends who are pleasant to be with..but i'm just offering an alternative viewpoint to what is perceived as a broad happy overview of the situation and put the focus on those who are directly affected...

jel; 12:29 pm