Comrades

There are actually 3 kinds of friends in this world. A, B, and C (a change from X, Y and Z ... haha). C is the type who is just there for the sake of being there, something like an acquantance, and I shan't touch on him so much. B is one who is the epitome of objectivity, he is one knows all his facts, weighs up all sides and judges accordingly based on concrete evidence. While B is objective, A is more subjective. A is one who is loyal and sticks by your side no matter what, whether you are right or wrong, and does not jump on the bandwagon. In a nutshell, A is loyal to people and not to principles.

One fine day, you and your three friends A, B and C are sent to a war. Let's assume you and your 3 friends are on patrol duty. However, you accidentally walk onto neutral territory and break a sacred object there. For that, the neutrals decide they are after your head.

You are miles away from the headquarters, and thus reinforcements cannot come in time to save you. The neutrals, ever fueled by the anger of you breaking their sacred object, start charging towards you with arms. You run away, but you fall down and break your leg, and you are unable to continue. You know that it is a matter of time before the neutrals come. You turn to your friends for help.

C says, "Sorry, I have many other friends so I don't care about what happens to you."

And so C leaves.

B says, "I've weighed up all the facts and arguments. Objectively speaking, you are actually in the wrong for breaking the sacred object. Therefore, they are right to come after you. Thanks for being my friend anyway. Goodbye."

And so B leaves.

A says, "I know you are wrong for breaking the object, but you are my friend and I will defend you no matter what happens, even with my life"

And so A stays.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether they live, nobody knows. Oh the mystery. Such is the beauty of friendship.

"A true friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

"In economics, the balance of payments, (or BOP) measures the payments that flow between any individual country and all other countries. It is used to summarize all international economic transactions for that country during a specific time period, usually a year. The BOP is determined by the country's exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well as financial transfers. It reflects all payments and liabilities to foreigners (debits) and all payments and obligations received from foreigners (credits). Balance of payments is one of the major indicators of a country's status in international trade, with net capital outflow."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_payments

Heres the context in which my poem has been written in. For the past few days, I have ventured into the morally gray (I will be doing a commentary about "God and the morally gray" in time to come) in order to fight against injustice. Until now, I have no idea whether I did right or wrong (hence, my experiences will be used as input for the post).

This poem speaks of my desire to come clean, and explains things from my point of view. Perhaps I should not have used the morally gray approach, however at times I find that desperate times call for desparate measures. Furthermore, seeing a good friend being made into a subject of humiliation just because of his so-called inability to perform in a particular game makes my blood want to boil.

And before my poem starts, I leave you all with a quote I recently found.

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke.

As long as I see evil, I will opposite it. The end.

And with that, I bring you readers my poem, titled "Balance of Payments".

Balance of Payments

A summary at disequilibrium
A defence for my guilty transactions
A subtle, impactful, stone written piece
A sheet that is so true, and meaningful
Blatantly obvious – Balance of Payments

Some sheets enjoy a surplus. Good for them.
And services positive. Some will go
Keynesian. Short term pain for long term gain
Many are in deficit. Good for us.
Living for the present isn’t a gift

My sheet mirrors my soul – Truth and meaning.
The currency of transfer, no one knows.
Keynesian. Short term pain for long term pain
Currently, I do not know where I stand
Capitally, excess long term outflow.

I once said to my teacher,” Please tell me
What is the point of this useless piece of sheet?”
He answered, “So you know what benefits
You, What helps you. What harms you. Good and bad”
Our underrated sheet mirrors our soul.


So I come clean now with no strings attached
I may have dwelt in the gray like you but
My intentions have been sparkling white and
Yours have been tainted black but whitewashed well
Radials contract, circulars relax

Now did that help you see your piece of sheet?
Dilate your pupils and don’t blink away
Dark Knight has made a Joker out of you
With pseudonyms I fought your injustice
Open your eyes to your sheet. Dare to add?

I do. Your constant practice of dumping
Drives innocents into a deficit
Their poverty cycle is your transport
Red lights, humps, stop signs, I embodied all
Now what were you saying about stocking?

If your feet still fail to match my shoe size,
Develop your cerebral hemispheres
I'll practice protectionism until
You stop your dumping, wave your white flag then
Come say my stocking is irritating

Colourgenics (For this month)

Name: z
Date: 9/26/2009
Colorgenics Number: 32145607

---

You are tending to pursue your objectives with concentrated intensity and it would seem that whatever obstacles may come into your path, you will stick to your guns and will not allow yourself to be deflected from your purpose. You are striving to achieve recognition and what is more - you deserve it.

You are willing to try anything once. You 'need to be needed' and what is perhaps more important you 'need to need.' You can only feel close to a person or persons when you feel you can trust them, but this trust needs to be proven to you.

Being a very proud individual, you tend to hold yourself aloof pretending that you are stoical - indifferent to pain and pleasure. This is not so, for in truth you are an extremely emotional individual, one that may make a hasty decision and perhaps regret it at leisure. It is time now to break the bond of detachment and be the 'you' that you would like to be - give vent to your emotions and enjoy yourself.

You are being unduly influenced by the situation that is all around you. You do not like the feeling of loneliness and whatever it is that seems to separate you from others. You know that life can be wonderful and you are anxious to experience life in all its aspects, to live it to the full. You therefore resent any restriction or limitations that are being imposed on you and you insist on going it alone.

You don't like authority and you rebel against all forms of limitation. You are your own person and you intend to stay that way and to get on in the world simply by your hard work and determination.

Kimi Raikkonen has signed an "outline agreement" to kick off a second tenure with the McLaren team beginning next season, the Mirror newspaper reported on Sunday.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090920103457.shtml

Not possible...please say it's just a rumour...

Nonetheless, even if it's true, I'm really happy for all the contributions that Raikkonen has made for Ferrari...

But if he goes back to McLaren...well...he shouldn't be surprised if he gets a sharp drop in popularity...

And who do you think will replace Raikkonen? I think...it'll most probably be Fernando Alonso...

Though it's best to keep the Raikkonen and Massa pairing intact...

The Thinking Christian

I took this title from the September 17th article of Our Daily Bread. Here is a link to the article: http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/09/17/devotion.aspx

You look at the title of this post and wonder what on earth I'm trying to say. I know some people will think the idea of a "Thinking Christian" is rather paradoxical. Many will think that is some sort of a contradiction, that Christians are naive. I have been to enough forums and websites to know that there are many people who think that Christians are just following blindly rather than actually being thinkers.

In some ways, they are partially right. I follow a God I cannot understand. Well, because He is God. If I could fully understand God, then I'm not human.

Nonetheless, I make this post with regard to issues relating to "Why do we pray?", "Why does God put me on this planet when He knows what the future holds, like whether I'm going to hell or heaven?", "How do we know what God wants us to do?", "How much does God love me?" and perhaps other themes will be covered as I plan to answer those questions. I must quote from Our Daily Bread when it was mentioned that "Faith was never intended as a substitute for intelligence". Yes. God does not want us to follow Him blindly. He wants us to actually truly reflect on His word, and what it all actually means. Of course, those questions above were some of the questions that were bothering me, and I have thought about them over many days. I must say that I am a person who believes in logic, and that I really get uncomfortable if something doesn't make any sense to me. In my attempt to answer these questions, I've also consulted other people, read through websites and of course reading and re-reading certain portions of the Bible. Thus, to allow others to benefit from my experiences, I attempt to answer these questions to the best of my ability with all the sources I have consulted over the past weeks. In answering these questions, some of my answers may overlap. That is expected, because that's the beauty of God, knowing just one thing about Him can lead to so many answers (and perhaps even more questions too, again another beauty of God!).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though not really made public, there is definitely a huge debate going on (well, at least within my mind, and perhaps the minds of many others) about why we should pray. Where does this debate stem from? Well, many people will say that since the future is already in God's hands, why do we need to pray? If God already knows what is best for me, why do I have to ask Him for what I need? For some, they would perhaps say that since God doesn't seem to be answering their prayers, why should they continue?

Questions and questions about why prayer is necessary just keep coming. I'm pretty sure too that God doesn't want us to be praying blindly. Can you imagine if your friend picks up the phone, never dials your number but starts talking? Yup, that's "talking blindly (LOL!)" So definitely, when you call your friend, or if your friend calls you, you'd definitely want to have some form of connection with him/her.

So yes, allow me to give the analogy of a little girl and some toys.

Let's say theres a father there. Now, the little girl wants to reach for a toy at the top of the shelves, but of course it is too high up for her. Let's say the father stands there, and watches her struggle to take the toys, but she can't. So the little girl gets tired, and feels rather sad at not being able to reach for the toys. She looks at the father with a sad look on her face, knowing that her best was just not enough, and she says "Daddy, can you get that toy for me?". Of course, the father picks up the toy and passes it to the girl, who becomes happy.

You see, prayer is like how the little girl asks her father to get the toy for her. Of course, we want something other than just mere toys, so we should ask God in the form of prayer. When we pray, we acknowledge that God is almighty and can grant us the desires of our hearts. When we pray, we acknowledge that we are weak while God is strong. When we pray, we acknowledge that God exists, and that life is not all about ourselves.

Now, you may ask, "Why doesn't the father just take the toy and pass it to her, even before she asks?". Well, I think the father already knows what the little girl wants from seeing the way she was reaching for the toy. If the father just took the toy down and passed it to the little girl, the little girl won't have the need to ask her father to take the toy down the shelves for her, and there won't be any connection. There won't be a relationship formed. You know in Luke 10:27 it read "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind". It's very clear here, God is telling us all to love Him! We get closer with our friends through experiences with them, and we get closer to God through experiences with Him, and prayer is a good way to have an experience with God as prayer is our direct form of communication with Him. If God just gives us what we want without us acknowledging that He did, then how will we rely on Him? How will a relationship with Him form? Prayer helps us to have a relationship with God. Therefore, I strongly believe that prayer is necessary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I''ve also asked this question, "If God knows that someone is going to do good on Earth, why can't He just send that person to heaven straight away instead of wasting time sending him to Earth? And on the other extreme, if God knows someone is going to do mean stuff on Earth, why can't He just send the person to hell straight away instead of letting that guy waste his time on Earth just to go to hell later on?"

Now I'm going to skip the explanations that everyone is evil and we are all doomed to go to hell in the first place, because that was what made me even more confused because God knows that in the future, some people will repent, so why not just send those whom He knows are going to repent up to heaven while sending the rest to hell?

I'm also going to skip the part where good people are needed to be on Earth to show others the way, because while this is true, it didn't answer my question because I thought that God should've put all those good people + others whom He knows will repent up in heaven first.

Again, we should look at our Bible. Notice that God does not say "You are to enter heaven and not enter hell". Nowhere. In fact, God does not really mention heaven or hell that much in the Bible. Look at the 10 commandments, did God ever ask us to enter heaven and avoid hell? Nope. Of course He wants us all to enter His kingdom, but more importantly He wants us to have a relationship with Him. I'm going to use Luke 10:27 as an example again "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind". Thus, this links back to why we pray, to love Him. Like the little girl struggling to get her toy, we struggle in the many challenges here on Earth. Through these challenges, we realise how weak we are and how strong God really is, and thus we begin to rely on Him more, forming a relationship with Him and the more we know Him the more we love Him. Thus, this is why God sends all of us to Earth, to love Him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've also always wondered what God had always wanted me to do. So far in my life, I've been more or less convinced that God wants me to be a doctor, because that is my lifetime goal.

However, I've been experiencing setback after setback this year. I've failed tests and examinations at various points of my life in these 2 years in the IBDP. I've always wondered if that was God's way of telling me to give up, that this programme was not suitable for me. Well, it is true if perhaps God feels that doing well in the IBDP to become a doctor (since you have to do superbly well to enter medical school) is not the right path for me.

But then again, God put me in the IBDP. Of course I wanted it so badly, but if He knew that it would not have been the right path for me, He would've steered me away from it a long time ago. So I'm here, and there must be a purpose. And if God sees you wanting to do your utmost best to bring glory to His name, God would never say "Give up!". Nope, I've never heard God tell me to "give up". During my O level year, the thought of me qualifying for the IBDP was sort of crazy, but yet I wanted it and God did not tell me to give up.

Now here I am, in the IBDP. I guess, the reason why I'm here is that God wants me to put in my best to glorify His name. Then again, I can be wrong. However, God has told me "Do not doubt yourself Sean. All things are possible in Me".

Yup, maybe you might say that these are just random thoughts that come into my own head, but who knows, perhaps God intended for them to happen!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now I'll like to use an analogy to show you all how much God loves you.

Perhaps a hands-on activity will work best! Follow the steps.

1) Take out a small piece of paper. Any size will do, as long as it can fit a small drawing.
2) Draw a picture of the best impression of any human you can find. Yup, you could even look into the mirror to draw yourself. Mine looks something like this!


(Hey, my Art ain't that good so this is the best given what I have haha!)

Ok. Now look at it. Will you love that picture so much that you can die for it?

No. I couldn't. I just can't.

But God did. He created us in His own image. We could say He perhaps looked into a mirror and moulded us based on what He looked like (so be careful when you make fun of the way someone else looks, you could be guilty of insulting God Himself...I think a lot of us will be guilty of this, or at least I am!).

Imagine if the picture you drew suddenly came to life (Assuming you don't scream and freak out!). The picture then starts swearing at you, blaming you for everything and demanding everything from you. What would you do? You'd most likely swat it away and say "To hell with you!".

But God died for us. Can you imagine turning yourself into that picture, to live amongst them and to show them the way, only to be crucified by your creation?

I can't imagine myself doing that. I won't do that.

Even if I were an artist and made a painting that was truly my best effort, I still won't die for it.

That just shows how much God loves us. A patient God whose mercies are everlasting. He could easily rip us apart whenever we piss Him off, but no. He chose to die for us.

I can't comprehend that. That's why I can never fully understand God's love. What made me actually deserve His love? I don't know. But I definitely know that He loves me so much that He was willing to die for me to buy my freedom.

Do you know why God allows us to sin? Ever wondered why God allows us to continue doing things that hurt Him when He could easily strike us down there and then?

To answer this, I will use an analogy again. I'm pretty sure that many of us have someone we love (boyfriends/girlfriends anyone? Maybe also parents who love their children? I don't know, be creative!) so much. Lets assume that you want your loved one to avoid eating char kway teow because it is oily and will cause health problems, but you know he/she loves to eat char kway teow so much. Your loved one tells you that he/she wants to eat it, and maybe even to the extent of putting char kway teow above you in priority. Out of love, you'd allow him/her to eat char kway teow.

Of course in our lives we probably would want something more significant than just char kway teow (but have you noticed that by putting material goods before God, it's almost like, if not worse than putting char kway teow before your loved one?). If God sees you wanting something so badly, that you'll put it before Him, He'll give it to you.

Which is why you see many rich people who effectively have made money their god. God loves these people very much and because of that, He will grant them the desires of their heart. (But remember, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God", because the rich man has made money his god.)

However, as mentioned earlier, if you want to glorify God, He will reward you (both spiritually and materialistically). Let's say your little picture does things to glorify you, and even though all that is important is a good relationship with you, you'd be so proud of it that you'd give it a reward (hmm, just try to imagine a picture having a reward!).

Of course, we mean more to God than a picture means to us. Therefore, God will not fail to reward you when you have done Him proud. By glorifying His name and doing all things for Him, and obeying Him out of love, that is what makes Him proud of you.

And remember, always thank Him for everything good that comes your way. (Speaking of which, Thanks Father for an awesome Bio Paper 2 today and for bringing me through my Prelims with a good momentum going!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers lead to more questions, and I'll like to know why God chose to become human and die for us when He could just magically buy our freedom. I think the answer has something to do with the chance of forming a relationship with Him being much higher if He died for us, rather than Him just magically taking them away. Any opinions?

Other than that, I must say that my relationship with God has been strengthened through these self reflections. It is true that in Christ we are equipped for "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Now at the conclusion of my post, I hope that I have helped to bring my readers some further insight into who God really is. If there is anything anyone is unclear of, or anything anyone would like me to add, do not hesitate to inform me via my tagboard or msn or anyway you want and I'll clarify these points in future posts. I would also like to thank my friend Minyang for giving me those insights which I have put into this post. Finally, I would like to thank God for being such a wonderful and amazing God, bringing me through such a blessed life!

And I really wish I can be like the little girl who will say with all her heart, "Hey, look how Daddy got my toy for me! I have such an amazing Daddy!"

My Dream Diary Continues

Ok I'm going to make a quick dream diary post before making another big blogpost.

I was dreaming of walking behind this girl. She was a girl I once sort of had a crush on. Yea it was in school. Let's call her Z.

So I was walking behind Z. I wanted to approach her...

Somehow I didn't dare...

STUPID LOR. I DONT EVEN DARE TO APPROACH A GIRL EVEN IN MY DREAMS...

But anyway...I saw my fren X. So I said "Hi" to X.

I told X "wah this girl is dam hot. Should I say hi"

X was like "You're dam hot and sexy! You should!"

Lol. Sarcastic? Maybe. Don't know. Just a dream.

Then X went to his class. He asked me to join him. I declined. Didn't think they like me anyway.

So I went to my class. Then someone (I dont know who) was saying something in Chinese about apologising and forgiving...

And then I woke up. WEIRD DREAM!!!

Glorify Your Name



Lyrics:
Jesus Jesus
Holy One, God's precious Son
You gave

Jesus Jesus
On the cross You took my shame
Forever from my heart I'll say
I live to worship You, Lord
My King of glory
Brought me to life
Gave me wings to fly
You are holy
Heaven and earth declare Your praise
Both now and evermore
I glorify Your name

Jesus Jesus
On the cross You took my sin
Forever from my heart I'll sing

You are holy
Glorify Your name
Jesus Jesus Jesus
I glorify Your name
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awesome song. Sums up what I (and hopefully many others) want to do.

Everything good I do, is to glorify Your name.

"I've got no time for people kicking anybody or being violent on the pitch and he was wrong to run the length of the field," Redknapp said. "But it's very difficult when you're getting abuse through the game like he was. It's not celebrating a goal that cause riots, it's idiots who want to start riots. What did Adebayor do, really? If I had been standing there and we had been giving him grief all game, I would probably say: 'Fair play.' I'm not saying it's right, what Adebayor did, but what nutters want to cause riots? Why do people need to shout abuse? Why can't they just watch a game of football? There must be something wrong with you if you want to do that."

Interesting point to think about, is it Adebayor's fault for provoking the fans? Or is it the fans' fault for wanting to riot...

It's very easy to blame players, but let's look at it another way...

If Adebayor had run to the wrong end of the pitch to celebrate (like what he did in the Man City vs Arsenal game), and if the fans had been more civilized and not riot, do you think the FA would've made an issue about this? Guess not.

So in this case, it's the fans' fault.

Nonetheless, when Gary Neville did the same to my club Liverpool, he only received a fine as punishment...if Adebayor gets a ban for this, then perhaps FA is being biased.

Racist? Nah, that's quite a strong word now and still unproven...

Not that it matters anyway, he's already going to miss the Manchester derby, so Man United is most likely gonna win.

So I guess more banning will help Liverpool's cause :)

I have 2 songs I like by Darlene Zscech. Yup, i really like Christian songs! Maybe I'll like to come up with my own album one day! But that'll have to wait :)

Irresistible

I behold your power and glory
Bring an offering, Come before You
Worship You Lord
In the beauty of Your holiness

Whenever I call You're there
Redeemer and friend
Cherished beyond all words
This love never ends
Morning by morning, Your mercy awakens my soul
I lift up my eyes to see
The wonders of heaven Opening over me
Your goodness abounds
You've taken my breath away, with Your irresistible love
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will run to you

Your eyes is on the sparrow
And Your hand, it confoms me
From the ends of the earth
To he depths of my heart
Let You mercy and strength be seen
You call me to Your purpose
As angels understand
For Your glory
May you draw all men
As Your love and grace demands
An I will run to You
To Your words of truth
Not by might, not by power
But by the Spirit Of God
Yes, I will run the race
'Til I see Your Face
Oh, let me live in the glory of Your Grace
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beautiful songs. So true.

And as the 2nd song says, "Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of God", I will go into my prelims and the upcoming IB exams with that in mind.

Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of God

Here goes nothing...

but faith in God that my efforts put into this prelims and the forthcoming IB exams will pay off...

Prayer always helps. One day I am going to do a blogpost on prayer:)

(And I shall attempt to explore the question on why we should pray even if God already has the future planned out for us)

Yossi Benayoun was amazing! Hat trick!!!

The way Benayoun and kuyt kept switching positions around was pretty well done. By playing behind Gerrard and Torres, Benayoun could make use of the extra space in front of him (due to super heavily blatent man marking of Gerrard and Torres) and bang in the goals. Why didn't Liverpool do this earlier? Nonetheless, better late than never and I believe my club will take the title race down to the wire!

Hmm regarding Chelsea, they were super lucky, but statistically they remain premier league's top team for now...THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!!

Regarding Manchester City and Arsenal, well I guess it's justice done in favour of Greedybayor (what the Arsenal fans call him). No doubt I wanted to see a draw between both teams, but given the abuse that Adebayor got even when he was still in Arsenal, I think it's about time for justice to be done. No fan should ever boo their own player (afterall, the player probably knows more about football than them), Lucas Leiva doesn't even get booed that much by Liverpool fans. Maybe in the heat of the game itself yea but after the game we Liverpuldians can still say "Lucas we love you!". Even Wenger had told the Arsenal fans not to abuse Adebayor, and given the club's financial state, Adebayor had to go...

Anyway, it would've been fun to see Tevez and Arshavin playing,

Nonetheless, I can't wait for the Aquilani to get fit. Liverpool is set to become THE team to watch!

Servant Leadership

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave"
- Matthew 20:26-27

I was reading the Daily Bread today about "Lateral Violence". I did not get the verse at first, until I realised it was about servant leadership when I read the bottom of the page where it mentioned"Only the one who serves is qualified to lead".

Many of us have seen people in high up leadership positions abuse their power and exert their authority over others. Matthew 20:25 sums it all up (I shall use the New Living Translation) "But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.".

Now I shall mention the rest of the verses until verse 28.
²⁶ But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. ²⁸ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

And then it becomes clear. Jesus is the prime example of a leader that we should all follow. In His life, He served everyone a lot, from washing his disciples' feet to dying on the cross.

And to be honest, if I were Jesus, and I look down upon the vile earth who have taken Him for granted, I'll probably say "to hell with you all" (and maybe mean it literally).

But Jesus didn't do that at all. In fact He didn't have to come down to serve us! We didn't even deserve a single bit of His mercy. However, I can definitely say that His great love for us was what made Him come down to serve us...

So to lead is to serve, and when we serve, we do it out of love. Just like our Father did for us.

And now I leave you all with a song (images may be a bit graphic. I think they're from Passion of the Christ):



Lyrics:
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A really beautiful song. Totally sums up the depth of God's love for us. This is what we should base our servant leadership upon - Serving altruistically.

Colourgenics @ http://www.goldinuniverse.com/

Name: Sean Lee Junn Kit
Date: 9/11/2009
Colorgenics Number: 31250467

---

You are striving for a life full of activity and experience and, perhaps even more, an environment where you would be able to forge a close bond with a person who can offer full emotional fulfilment.

You are working extremely hard trying to improve your image. You need for those people in positions that matter to recognise your potential and to acknowledge you.

Although you are, deep down, a very caring person, you are very particular in the choice of friends and indeed very demanding at times. You can be most quarrelsome and controversial and it is because of this argumentative trait you can at times explode into open conflict - conflict with even those you may care for and love. It is because of this inherent argumentative streak in you that may have resulted in broken hopes and dreams.

Presently, you are experiencing stress because of restriction on your independence. You need and seek respect from other people and it is essential that they appreciate you for yourself and not for what they would like you to be. You have your own beliefs and convictions and you would like to be respected for them. You are anxious to avail yourself of every opportunity that may come your way but nevertheless, come what may, you have the need to control your own destiny without imposed limitations or restrictions.

You don't like authority and you rebel against all forms of limitation. You are your own person and you intend to stay that way and to get on in the world simply by your hard work and determination.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try it, it's frighteningly accurate

Comfort in Suffering

This post comes a bit late. God spoke to me to post this on my blog earlier, but I delayed till now. Of course I have no excuse, that I must admit. But anyway as I always say, better late than never.

While reading the Daily Bread on Tuesday, September 8 2009, I saw this article titled "Comforted to Comfort". For those who do not have the Daily Bread, I will post the article here.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comforted To Comfort
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

[God] comforts us . . . that we may be able to comfort [others] with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. —2 Corinthians 1:4

While speaking to a group of Christian athletes, I asked them how they normally responded to hardships. Their responses included fear, anger, self-pity, aggression, despair, abusive behavior, apathy, and turning to God. I encouraged them to trust that God would comfort them and then use them to comfort others.

Just as I encouraged those athletes, Paul encouraged a group of believers in a town called Corinth. He reminded them that afflictions were inevitable for the follower of Jesus. Many were being persecuted, imprisoned, and oppressed—all because of their relationship with Jesus. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that in the midst of their trouble God was their source of help. He would come to their side and help them to have godly responses. Then Paul gave one of the reasons God allowed suffering and brought divine comfort—so that the Corinthians might have the empathy to enter into other people’s sorrow and comfort them (2 Cor. 1:4).

When we suffer, let us remember that God will bring comfort to us through His Word, by the Holy Spirit, and through fellow believers. God does not comfort us so that we’ll be comfortable; we are comforted by God so that we might be comforters. — Marvin Williams

When you receive God’s comfort,
Be sure to pass it on,
Then give to God the glory
From whom the comfort’s drawn. —Hess

When God permits trials, He also provides comfort.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, it is true that when we undergo suffering, the purpose of it is to experience it first hand so we can better relate to others who undergo the same plight. This is really applicable to me this year, where I suffered a lot, and I think in some cases it was unjustified suffering. Nonetheless, I was able to see the unfairness of life first hand, and thus I can empathize with others better. Perhaps this is why empathy is one of my strongest traits, but it is God given, and probably I would not have been able to be a source of comfort to others without God first being a source of comfort to me.

And besides, guess who suffered the pain of being human, all the limitations and the harsh reality of life?

The answer is of course staring at us right in the face (maybe even literally), and yet we do not realise. God came down to earth in human form as Jesus Christ. You all probably know what happened where He suffered unjustly. Remember, He commited NO SIN.

And yes, I guess we have no reason to say that God does not understand our plight, He has been through many times worse. He undergone so much stress till the blood came out with His sweat, He got whipped by the cat with nine tails, He undergone so much humiliation while His best friend denied Him thrice. He wore a crown of thorns which pierced His skull into the pain sensors at the cerebral hemiispheres. He bore the cross full of splinters up a long long mountain slope on His already wounded and bloody back. He struggled for breath on the cross just so we can breathe freely.

All this He did for us to live and enter heaven...while all of us remain ungrateful and continue neglecting Him.

To think I had the cheek to call myself a second priority to others, when I have not even placed God as my second priority. I am really a wicked sinner...Time to make a change in my life. And others should follow suit too.

Anyway, I guess now it's quite a good thing that I've had so many horrible experiences. Yes, even to be treated as a second priority, I know how others are going through.

And I am really comforted to know that God had been (and still is) going through being neglected by those He cares about, and that since Jesus had gone through the painful experience of being neglected on earth and still managed to pull through...

then it is possible for us. All we have to do is make God the number one source of happiness.

Gee, I must admit I've been going on and on about everything rather than focusing on just one thing. But hey, that's the beauty of God's love, He focuses on everything...all aspects of life and creation.

To care about you while keeping the galaxies in their place...it says a lot about our God.

Objectively speaking, He is good!

And now my dream diary continues.

It was a long ride past mountains and lush greenery to a hotel. There was a waterfall too, a huge massive body of water that makes the earth tremble as it constantly keeps pounding the ground. It looked like an overseas hotel because I have never seen a hotel like that in Singapore. I mean like...Mountains, greenery, waterfall, etc...Can't be from Singapore...

The ride up was surreal and dreamy (literally right? LOL). You only see something like that in movies, and perhaps even travel shows. Whatever it is, it felt so good.

And I thought "Hey...why am I here?"

So I went to the hotel. Checked in and got some rest in my room. I got a message from my best friend Z (im sick of the letters X and Y) saying that the rest will be here soon. Now why on earth will I go overseas with my Z to such an expsnsive place (looks expensive!). And why did he say "The rest"?

So yea I was there, and Z came. He went to my room to unload his stuff and had a nice chat with me...

and before I knew it, the scene shifted

He and I were getting ready to play DOTA with each other. It was a warm up match. I was going to 1v1 him. Furthermore, everyone (A HUGE CROWD! AS IF WE WERE CELEBRITIES) came to watch us. So I guess it was a warm up match (since it's 1v1).

So it became apparent that this is a DOTA team...

Z and I are probably one of the best DOTA players in the world then! Wow!

Quite an awesome dream...then I woke up...

Funnyy, we were just talking about setting up a bboy crew (Z is out of his mind, but it sure sounds fuN!) and a DOTA team!

Alright. dreams are pretty vague, yea I hope I can juggle all my dreamed up success with being a doctor! Woohoo! That'll be awesome!

When I went out today, I stumbled along this quote:
"The will of the Lord will never lead you where grace cannot keep you."

I looked at it, and I wondered which part of the Bible it came from, because I don't recall seeing it in the Bible (well to be honest, my Bible knowledge is sadly still lacking).

Somehow, I got drawn to that phrase.

And just now, while studying. I felt like giving up. Like somehow fate was against me. Then I remembered that phrase again. And so I persevered and continued studying...

I wondered why that phrase was so powerful. I didn't really know what the exact definition of God's grace was so I googled it. So here comes wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God%27s_grace

I really can't describe it in words, because it cannot be done that way. It has to be experienced. Google definitions states it as "In Christianity, grace is "unmerited favour" from God (the idea drawn from Ephesians 2:8-9). "

Anyway, I decided to google the phrase to find out where exactly it came from and here's what I found from answers at yahoo answers. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090123150527AA9nD9b

Some people have said that it was adapted from 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has taken YOU except what is common to men. But God is faithful, and he will not let YOU be tempted beyond what YOU can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for YOU to be able to endure it.

And some have said Jeremiah 29:11 comes close..."God says, 'I know the plans I have for you, plans, not to harm you but plans, to give you a future and a hope.'"

And then I found out it comes from a poem titled "The Will of God"

The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

"Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now
but trust and believe in the Lord
that everything is for the best."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And then came the best answer (IN MY OPINION) to where that phrase came from. As I scrolled down a little further, I saw someone who said "Right where God has put it from the very beginning...in my heart and soul." And for the sources he put "My source is from the Lord"

And yes, I realised that God had definitely put it in our hearts that His will for us is perfect. Even when fate seems so hard on us, remember that God controls fate.

And now I commit everything I do to You, Lord, and I pray that my plans will succeed. But nonetheless not my will, but Yours be done.

Now what's the point?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIA calls Renault to face cheating charges

The FIA today confirmed that Renault has been requested to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Monday 21st September.

In a statement issued this afternoon by the sport’s governing body, the team has been called to answer charges, including a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code. That particular rule regards bringing the sport into disrepute via “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motorsport generally.”

“The team conspired with its driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso,” reads the statement.


http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090904184025.shtml
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The FIA can go on a witchhunt to find Renault guilty of this cheating case. They can punish Renault all they like by getting them to leave the sport (which is actually doing themselves a great disservice)...

But what's the point? As much as I'd like to see Renault being punished if they're guilty...what can the rest stand to gain? Cheating will still go on in F1...

And Massa already lost his world championship thanks to that incident. So yea. It won't change the result even if Renault has been found guilty and punished.

Just my two cents worth.

I realised again today, it's very hard to say goodbye.

Nuff said.

Reach

I don't usually like songs from bands like S-Club 7 (do I call them Bubblegum pop?), but I like the song "Reach".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach by S-Club 7

When the world leaves you feeling blue
You can count on me I will be there for you
When it seems all you hopes and dreams
Are a million miles away I will reassure you

Weve got to all stick together
Good friends there for each other
Never ever forget that
Ive got you and youve got me so

So reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbows shining over you
Thats when your dreams will all come true

Theres a place waiting just for you
Its a special place where your dreams all come true
Fly away swim the ocean blue
Drive that open road leave the past behind you
Dont stop gotta keep moving
Your hopes have gotta keep building
Never ever forget that
Ive got you and youve got me so

So reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbows shining over you
Thats when your dreams will all come true

Dont believe in all that youve been told
The skys the limit you can reach your goal
No one knows just what the future holds
There aint nothing you cant be
Theres a whole world at your feet

I said reach
Climb every mountain
Reach
Reach for the moon
Reach
Follow that rainbow
And your dreams will all come true

So reach for the stars
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars
Follow your hearts desire
Reach for the stars
And when that rainbows shining over you
Thats when your dreams will all come true
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The song is quite self explatory. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by explaining what the lyrics mean haha:D

Amazing lyrics especially during such a tough period like now. The song has quite a happy tune. Hey maybe I'm rather biased in my dislike towards "bubblegum pop", I guess theres a time for everything. Yea and anyway I'm so glad I've got great friends as mentioned in the song. More importantly, I hope I can be that special friend to whoever in adversity.

Finally, I'm so glad that I've got the best friend of all who'll never leave me nor forsake me no matter what the circumstances are: the Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Saviour Almighty. He can be your best friend too.

Trust me, He is so good!

Making Closure

And now during this holiday that the school has granted to us, I can finally pen my thoughts down freely...

Now some of you might be expecting me to express this in the form of a poem, but I think writing a poem sometimes hides too much, and are open to too many interpretations, so I guess I should write this in prose form. Even though I haven't passed the last days of the school calendar yet, yesterday was more or less the last day of school for us. After that it's exams ahoy!

These 6 years have been a roller coaster ride for me, and as sometimes in our school life we can feel a part and yet apart. Sometimes we may feel wanted, and sometimes we may feel that our friends around us don't show enough respect. Nonetheless, eventually we will realise that everyone here wants the best of each other. In school, everyone is usually supportive of each other. I once told someone that no matter how hell these years have been, life out there is much worse.

You see, in school, when we make mistakes, sometimes it results in us failing the examination. No matter, just study hard and do better the next time, and then silence all critics. In working life, there is no second chance. One mistake, and you're fired. As a doctor, one mistake can mean a difference between life and death (also referring to the life of your career as a doctor LOL). It's a horrible world out there. I have met many people who have said "It's alright, I just have to last through these few years in school...", and I can't help but laugh silently to myself. No matter how bad the few years in school are, working life is much much much worse. In school, at least you have friends who support you. In work, there are no such things as friends. Well, a friend of mine told me "There'll always be friends everywhere". Well, you can't tell if your closest companion in work is your best friend or your worst enemy. Because you see, in school, everyone is interested in learning, supporting each other, helping each other, etc. In work, everyone wants to earn money money money, and who can blame them for trying to make a living? Look at the soccer stars, see how hectic the transfer market has been. That's already concrete proof of my point about people being interested in money. You'd think that teammates will stick with each other through thick and thin, but in the end they are all working men and want to earn the most out of their career.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have a farewell dinner organized for the graduating batch of ventures. To be honest, it did serve as a reminder of how short a time I have left as a school boy...

How ironic, all of us want to pon school whenever the opportunity arises. All of us want our holidays given to us. But when the time for school draws to a close, we start to wish that we have spent more time with each other...

Having been an ACSian for 12 years, I am sure going to find it difficult to get along with others out there. Not that I'm criticising them in any way, but I think others in my shoes will feel the same way too. During the NS checkup, the people around me seemed to be on a totally different wavelength from me. I didn't like the atmosphere out there. Oh well at least I was fortunate to have friends around me at that time. You know, forming a DOTA team was already quite tough for me. Look! A DOTA TEAM!!! How simple right!? Just say "HEY LOOK HERES THE STRATEGY, DO THIS!"... Nope, again I'm not criticising anyone, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses...but it would be different having ACS teammates. You see, with ACS teammates, they'll be willing to help each other, and sometimes even if they disagree with your view, it's usually to augment it rather than to throw it down. With teammates not from ACS, everyone has their own egos, because they're more or less best in the school they come from, and so everyone wants to be right and have things done their own way. I guess that served to give me a glimpse of how working life is going to be.

I guess it was the same with McLaren Mercedes in 2007 where they hired both Alonso and Hamilton who have their own separate egos and were at conflict with each other...So there was a major case of team rivalry and then bye bye to both WDC and WCC which McLaren was looking strong to get. I rather it be like Ferrari, 2 teammates (Kimi and Felipe) who are willing to work with each other, and despite them always taking points off each other (they have taken as much points off each other in 2007 as Hamilton and Alonso), they remained teammates and practiced team spirit no matter what...and thus they won both the WDC and WCC (even if McLaren was included in the 2007 WCC, Ferrari still win it by 1 point too)

Oh hey look I was just proving myself wrong about working life being hell...but that's Ferrari, the best F1 team in the world. Maybe I might want to work as a doctor there someday, but that'll have to wait...till I get into Medical school (also till I can speak fluent Italian LOL)

I know my life as a schoolboy is coming to an end, but my gut feeling tells me it's not over yet...that something grand is still waiting to happen...

And my gut feeling also tells me that working life is going to be great...

But those are just gut feelings, which are very inconsistent don't you think so?

So all I have to do is trust in God, for He'll never leave me nor forsake me.

And lemme try to write something in Italian (LOL FROM THE ITALIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM LYRICS)

Rivelano ai popoli le vie del Signore. Uniti, per Dio, chi vincer ci può?

I can't sleep easy...

knowing that the chapter of my life as a schoolboy is drawing to a close...

actually, i suddenly feel rather tired. Imma sleep soon.

Will update further some other time...

Reconciliation

I know I've been posting a lot about the dreams I have every night, but they are getting weirder by the day.

I was walking along the corridors of my Pri 1/2 classroom. I assume that I probably time travelled back to my Pri 2 period (yes...becos the school has shifted already). I looked in. (I didn't recall what I saw, probably myself in Pri 2?)

And then I saw my fren. Lets call him X. X was sort of my best fren when I was in sec3, but I'll probably ignore him if I bump into him in school or at most say "Hi".

So I saw X. I said "Hi!"

Then he saw me and said "Hi"

And there was an awkward silence. X and I stared at each other for quite a while.

Then we gave each other a hug.

And I said "dont get me wrong, I know we can't be best friends like before...but I've been so bored to death nowadays..."

Yea...then I woke up...Lolz...