tsunami relief

it's kinda heartwarming to know that singaporeans are contributing to help the tsunami victims from the earthquake on sunday. it's only been around 4 days, but really, various organisations besides the red cross have been collecting daily necessities and cash to send to indonesia, sri lanka and india as relief. it's the season of giving, and even as the new year is fast approaching, it really is wonderful knowing that so many people are united in their efforts to help these victims =^-^=

kinda makes me feel small... esp when here i am frantically trying to sort out modules for the next semester... will continue to keep the victims and the missing, as well as their families in fervant prayer

juan

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Merry Christmas everybody!!!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

[Luke 2:8-12, The Holy Bible, New International Version]

... [the Magi] went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

[Matthew 2:9-11, The Holy Bible, New International Version]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood.

[John 1:1-5, The Holy Bible, New International Version]

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Prob the last post til sometime after Christmas...

Anyway, been thinking about missions quite a bit. Plus received an email from our science crusade mailing list regarding Gen12II for next year... really wanna go to Japan for the campus ministry but really need to pray about it. Only sounded it out to my mom, haven't approached my dad on the subject yet... need to go print out the details for me mom to read too... *crosses fingers* oh well, after all, God is in control, so I shall just wait upon Him ^-^

For those people who need good books to read, I recommend books by C.S. Lewis. The 7 books in the Narnia series (The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Boy and His Horse; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle) are targeted for children, but I still love them all the same! It's a pretty neat parallel of some parts of the Bible. Hey, don't go away thinking that he only writes kid's books! The Screwtape Letters is really amusing too!! And I wanna read finish The Great Divorce (of heaven and hell) and Mere Christianity that I borrowed from Kemin ^-^ Which reminds me.... need to remember to borrow Rachel's Tears from Wendy too!

Added a link to The New Adventures of Bobbin! (look to the right) Who would have thot that Joyce's Bobbin series that started in our sec days would have lasted so long, and been featured in the news and still be online!! =^-^=

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Finally... LOTR-ROTK extended version!!!

yay!! it's finally out!!! got it on thursday on my way home ^-^ so i'm watching it now!! all 3 movies=12hour marathon since they are all extended versions. pity i can't afford the dvd... would really have loved that... but all i'll be missing would be the behind the scenes extras. ほんとに　よかった！ the cover's blue, with the picture of the silver tree on the outside casing *hugs* back to watching smeagol and deagol's fishing trip

57 minutes, 04 seconds later...
disc 1 down, 3 more to go... still struck by how peter jackson can jumble up the sequence of events so nicely yet still keep true to the story that j.r.r. tolkien weaved so many years ago... the sequence is soo messed up, shows how good he is as a storyteller himself =^-^= and howard shore's music *sigh* it's a good team alright! reminds me of the when i went to the LOTR exhibition quite some time back and was just gasping at the details and intricacies of all the props. the design team and backstage crew really did a fab job *thumbs up* just think about the scale and detail of minas tirith *swoon*

yet when i compare all this that men (and women) have done to the splendour of this universe, it alll pales in comparison... the the Lord God can come up with something as tiny yet complex as a cell, that can work by itself or in conjunction with milloins or others... that He can at the same time come up with the complexity of the galaxy, the stars, the blackholes and all, and that we as humans are barely scratching the surface of things... i can only stand in awe of His works... totally stunned into amazement. He is really beyond what we can imagine ^-^ thank goodness for that! ('cos i am just so inapt and inadequate as a person)

even as i continue to watch the rest of lord of the rings - the return of the king, i prepare and wait for the return of not only THE King, but the King of Kings

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Clearing of Junk - Part I

With regards to the heading, I think there's gonna be a part 2 etc as I go about clearing my life of these unwanted influences, and when I proceed to the annual physical packing up of my room...

During YM this morning, there was an oppotunity for us to bring our junk and rubbish that we feel that the Lord is leading us to get rid of from our lives, and I placed some of my stuff there at the altar. You gotta ask me personally what it was that was discarded, I'm not gonna mention here. My heart was just pounding as I placed it in the trash bag but after praying to the Lord and asking Him to give me wisdom and a heart of discernment to know what he wants me to trash and to keep OUT of my life, there was this sense of peace in spite of the heartache that I felt. Following which, the Lord just placed on my heart even more stuff I needed to trash!! The Lord really knows me very well. If I was told at one shot what to trash, I would just start rationalising. I just have this feeling that with every time I trash stuff in a prayerful manner, and I wait and listen to Him, He would just lead and challenge me to trash even more stuff. I think it is important that the bunch of us who brought stuff to trash ( as well as those who have been doing their own personal trashing) need to keep each other in prayer and encouragement, that even as we get rid of these things, we would draw closer to God at the same time, and not get "withdrawal syndromes" that would lead to going back to some of the things that we have taken a stand against. Guys, keep each other in prayer, k?

Just reached home, and as I started chucking *quite* a few books, I really felt the pinch. All the effort I spent saving up the money to buy them. *ouch* SQ now I *really* know what u meant about that "hole" u would feel. Was so tempted to open them and just start reading them one last time before trashing.... knowing that my conviction to trash them would not stand up if I started reading, I just taped the stuff in a Kinokuniya plastic bag. Kinda ironic since I bought quite a bit of them Kinokuniya... sorry Chris, but Shaman King is in there too. (No... not all of it is manga... chinese books are there too...) Another lesson that I think the Lord was also teaching me was that I have to spend money wisely. Our treasure is not of this world, so why spend money on things that you would need to clear out of your life anyway? Especially if it's gonna hurt..... *heartache*

On the issue of anime, I think I would still be watching anime (partly as a form of practising my japanese as well as relaxation) but the Lord definitely wants me to be a whole lot more selective about the anime I watch. Meaning NO more Kannadzuki no Miko for me!!

Lord, please give me the strength and conviction to see this cleaning process through. Not only for me but to the other YMers whom You have also spoken to. Father Lord, I pray that You would continue to fill us with Your Holy Spirit and a loving heart for others, and to teach us to continue obeying You, and to stand firm against things that You have warned us of. Thank you so much Lord!

Click for the rambling...

shiawase =^-^=

liling came back to singapore yesterday, and she brough with her kino no tabi vol 02 - 04!!! yay!! more books to read ^-^ *hugz liling* now... do i have the time to actually read all of them? hmmm.... anyway, it's great to have them (besides tha fact that reading japanese takes really long for me) next semester, i prob would need to write compositions for japanese 3

need to pop by church later for the escobar sessions briefing plus camp debrief... actually i'm in school now, need to pack up our sps room for the carpet washing and watever other semestral cleaning up on monday... tink i'll go down to the canteen for a quick bite and get back up here to help. byez!!!

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LOTR personality test

Congratulations! You're Aragorn!


Which Lord of the Rings character and personality problem are you?

This is simply hilarious.... even tho' aragorn is my fave character, I dun quite agree with it... all in the name of fun!

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F.L.A.P. in Christ

yo~ back from camp =^-^= been a really refereshing experience, and one of the things that really struck me was regarding the state of mainstream music nowadays.... it just seems that pop culture is endorsing themes and ideas that focus on "ME" (part of the new age movement i guess) and wat used to be core and moral values are treated like trash. we watched a short video clip, and there was a section showing how the music industry breaks every single one of the 10 commandments that were given to Moses. i have been observing the fact that music is becoming less wholesome as the days go along (thus i rarely listen to the radio nowadays, except for uFM 100.3 that's soon going, and internet radio such as klvv.com), but honestly, i never really thought it was THAT bad. the video may have focuesd on American music, but it seems that the chinese / asian music industry is slowly treading those same footsteps. (oh no!!! even less music that i would like!) I made a commitment to the Lord that I'll be more careful about what I listen to, and that would include cleaning up the music I ALREADY have. i have already placed cds (and games) that don't agree with what is said in the Bible, as well as those of artistes that lead a lifestyle that really sicken me. Started the process of deleting mp3s off my computer too, and i think i'll have to start the painstaking process on finding out more about the japanese artistes that i listen too. This ain't gonna be easy but I need to stick to this promise I made to God. Less variety of music to listen to, more work and considerations when I want to buy a new cd... it's gonna be tough but I won't die from showing some restrain, plus that would me less clutter and distractions from focusing on Jesus. Isn't that a great trade-off? *toothy grin* It's a good chance to clear out mental junk that has been accumulating, even as I use the hols to pack up my room too.

Also, I need to be more conscientious about what I read and watch, not to just write anything off as "just a story/show". Things are probably deeper that what first appearances represent, and it's when the subtle influences around us take hold that things can become really dangerous. Really need to be more discerning, with all the many different kinds of influences (many but not all bad) all around us. I even went as far as to delete this really nice wallpaper of Lucifer from Angel Sanctuary....as nice as the wallpaper was, it's still, well, a wallpaper of Lucifer, and no matter what the context, I am not to endorse satan...clearing my stuff really is gonna be tough... need to rely on Jesus, and do all these through His strength and will that there would be no other idols or things in my life that i would place before Him.

oh yeah, alvin called on the last nite of camp. he's going to thailand for a mission trip from 11th to 20th dec. will definitely keep my kor and his team in prayer. *goes and prints out email*

need to go clear me emails and stuff...plus pack up area in sps....

Click for the rambling...