| Exam FM, board games and more! |
[Dec. 7th, 2009|01:19 am] |
Yay! Exciting news! I passed my 2nd attempt at FM! :D without the need to go to KL to sit.. But now I understand why the last time we couldn't get a seat in Sg. There were only 14 computers or so! =x
Just a short complain : Goodness! official time for the exam was 1pm. Apparently someone rang my colleague (and maybe me too but i didn't realise it was them) and told him to go at 12pm. So basically after lunch, we arrived about 12ish before 1215. We waited about say 1230pm before registering. First problem arised: They insisted that I show my passport when I provided my IC. It's clearly stated that I can produce a GOVERNMENT ISSUED ID with my photo and if there's no signature, a companying credit card would be fine. THAT WOMAN simply INSISTED THAT IT WAS PASSPORT ONLY! =x then say want to withhold my results otherwise =x what if they are poor ppl in sg who have never been overseas? Never made a passport before? Then not allowed to sit for exam at all?? Goodness. Stress me out only before my exam =x rubbish. After making me wait till 1.40pm (their clock even said 1.55pm which makes it sound even more absurb), they seemed reluctent to 'sign me in'. they asked if I would be bringing my passport later after the exam =x then after i tried to reason with them, the other person impatiently told me to sign EXACTLY as in the credit card =x ok.. no need so fierce when saying that.. so totally not satisfied with the way they are dealing with us.
Ok. that complaint seemed look. Haha.
Anyway, bottom line is that I passed :) so I shall not bother with them until the next time i need to take another CBT (computer based test) =x
Sat: KK Hospt's International Volunteers day!
- had an impromptu presentation session where I played the guitar while the rest sang Christmas Carols. It was quite funny in a sense because halfway through, they changed key and didn't follow the guitar. HAAH. I strummed more softly to .. avoid too much clashing of notes. But both me and the other guitarist were snickering to ourselves. LOL
- Got to know this lady who invited us to be 'customers' .. role playing to help the staff improve their customer service. It was quite cool coz the 4 characters that she described was very similar to the 4 of us in our volunteer group. :) hee.
- played the piano! haha, been ages since i touched one.. was fun trying to figure out the chords/notes for the song that was requested :D
Late afternoon:
- Board games!
= galloping pigs
= the cats in the sack
= the railway track and building bridges to countries game
= some pirate game
(names are not accurately potrayed but description of games are)
Sunday:
- Impromptu wii/board game session again. This time with WY and a friend he met on WoW..
- Buffet dinner for WL's bday~
= overate
= saboed both pri sch mates
= i think i'm well known amongst her friends now. HAHA.
now, 1.18am. First day back to work after about 10 days of absence. I'm so gonna end up sleepy in the office =x goodness. hee. :D enjoyed myself greatly this weekend though ;) hee |
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| First homemade dinner~ |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|12:13 am] |
Pork Chops + Broccoli with cheese.
Marinated pork chops for less than an hour with soy sauce, sesame seed sauce, carrots, sweet onions, garlic..
Thought my bro would be returning to camp like pretty early that's why never marinate longer ..
Turned out instead of the usual 830 that he leaves at, he could go back by 10pm.. =x Right..
Anyway, my baked potatoes with pork chops turned out to be a great hit with the 'kids' =p
*absent minded-ly forgot to take a picture! Next time! |
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| Singlish impacts our lives |
[Apr. 8th, 2009|09:35 am] |
Just a brief background on singlish. It's a language that you pick up when staying in Singapore for long usually. It comprises of English, Mandarin, Malay and other dialects like Hokkien. To me, sometimes it's just abbreviating certain parts of a sentence. i.e. "did anyone [switch] off the fan?!"
In the context of playing guitar hero [on wii], these were some statements picked up.
guy: "what [mode] are you?"
girl: "I'm [on] easy [mode]. How about you?"
guy: "I'm [on] hard [mode]"
*pauses*
guy: "erm, never mind." |
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| 4 point of contacts in pool |
[Mar. 29th, 2009|12:47 pm] |
1. right hand
2. body
3. chin
4. left hand
These 4 points of contact is meant to provide a straight line of vision to play pool. Never before did I bend down so low to hit the ball before! However, part of the pain had originated from my badminton playing earlier the morning. It's a good trick to keep my cue from flying all over the place. Just got to be more conscious of the way I place the cue and the after effects [i.e. if my cue flew out and away from my body upon contact with the white ball] |
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| Happenings before work |
[Mar. 8th, 2009|04:41 am] |
1. I actually crashed my cousin's friend's party today, though I totally do not know him!
A bit awkward at times, but the birthday boy's quite sporting. He actually wore the bikini top and took tonnes of pictures.. which he hopes hard would never make it to facebook or any other network.
Stayed till quite late and saw the aftermath of him drinking too much. Thank God I didn't have to go up to that stage. My cousin exposed the plan they had had for MY 21st party 2 weeks prior to this: to get me drunk enough to push me slightly into the 'baby' pool.
So, maybe the couple who had scolded us for noise disturbance was actually a good thing! At least I didn't get into trouble with my mum (who was super against me getting drunk) because I had no aftermath effects [i.e. I didn't even have a slight headache. Just somehow had insomnia during the night]
Back to this day, as a result of staying late and not checking last bus timing, I missed the last direct bus to my place, missed the last mrt train and had to run once again to the other bus stop to catch a non direct bus. After which, I walked at least 1.2km home. Took about 1/2 hour more to reach home. What an exercise!
side note: never go to the beach AT NIGHT though it might seem fun/exciting/romantic. The things that you can't see are fearful. Especially when walking by a bunch of black ants that bite you when you fling your slippers in their path! The worst thing was how they refuse to open their jaws =x I was in agony and pain until I didnt' dare tug on that insect any longer! Good thing my friend just pulled it and somehow it released! Didn't know how I would walk back otherwise!
2. Last night, my friend randomly called me for wii guitar hero world tour! =) always fearing my mum's opinion, I rejected his offer. So, I sounded lazy to his friend in the car. =x Haha, wanting to prove them wrong, I asked my mum and surprisingly, she said ok! [ah, but i fibbed about the time to return by accident. I thought we'll only take 2 hours =p]
The end result? return @ 5am or so.
Contributing factors included :
1) playing the drums/guitar/bass in world tour
2) youtubing 'i'm a single lady'
3) adding people on facebook
4) MAHJONG =x
Good time. Wonder if all these would continue if I start working. Hope life in SG won't be too work orientated only. =) |
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| By Faith |
[Oct. 29th, 2008|09:17 am] |
Abel's Acceptable Worship Sacrifice, by Faith By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4) The Lord desires that people become true spiritual worshipers of Him. "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (John 4:23). This can only become a reality through faith in the Lord. One helpful example of this is Abel's acceptable worship sacrifice, by faith. Cain and Abel were two sons of Adam and Eve. The time came when they both offered sacrifices unto the Lord. "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat" (Genesis 4:3-4a). The sacrifice of Cain was rejected by God, whereas Abel's sacrifice was accepted. "And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering" (Genesis 4:4b-5a). Our primary verse tells us why Abel's gift of worship was acceptable to the Lord. "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Abel's sacrifice was given by faith. It came from a heart that believed in the Lord and trusted in His righteous ways. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD but He loves him who follows righteousness" (Proverbs 15:8-9). When the Lord accepted Abel's offering, He was declaring that Abel was righteous in His sight: "through which he obtained witness that he was righteous." Elsewhere, the word confirms that Cain was an unbeliever; whereas, Abel walked in righteousness. "Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous" (1 John 3:12). When we offer worship sacrifices to the Lord, He is looking on our hearts. Are we trusting in Him? Are we yielding to the righteous paths that His word has set forth? Whether we are offering praise, giving thanks, doing good deeds, or sharing our resources with others, we are to do it all by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased you're being built up a spiritual house to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 13:15-16 and 1 Peter 2:5). By Faith. God accepts us. By faith, he declares us righteous. How hard sometimes it is! Sometimes, reading the bible I wonder how forgetful and critical humans can be. I recall once reading through the story of Cain and Abel, i once asked, " Why was Abel's offering accepted but Cain's rejected? Does that mean I need to offer meat and fats instead of fruits and veg? But I prefer to eat the meat and fats!" The response I got was what each brother gave was
1) the best portion that Abel had
2) just some fruits (according to NIV) from the soil
So the 'moral' of the story seemed like to give our best for God. But is that the end?
I tend to have a very systematic way of thinking, to think of cause and effect from us humans point of view. In this case, that we give our best and God accepts us. But is this the right way to think? No! As roughly illustrated in the passage above, it's by faith in God THAT we do our best for him! It is NOT us going the first step of doing our best! But rather, that while we were all yet sinners, God gave his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins that we might be able to come to a relationship with him again, that shows his love for us .. that should be the motivating reason to give our best.. ! So by faith, which is also a gift from God that we might know and love him in response, let us live a life , not by our own will and strength, but one that relies on God and gives our best to him!
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| FREE GIFT! |
[Sep. 1st, 2008|12:07 am] |
Indeed, when we hear the words "FREE" deal/meal.. We tend to be quite skeptical and wonder what's the catch.
Today's sermon was on Galations 3:1-14.
The background as can be reviewed in Gal 1-2 is roughly that the the Gentile Christians in Galatians were being misled by the Jews who used the Old Testament to back up their arguement for the need for circumcision.
However, Paul continues, emphasising that the Spirit is received by Faith not by Law. He appeals to their own experiences with the Gospel in v1,2,5 through retorical questions. He points out in v3-4 that the readers started well and should finish well .. that they started by accepting by faith through Jesus Christ and should not think that we NEED to maintain this relationship by doing good works (that is so that God would continue to accept us).
An example that Paul quotes is Abraham (3:6-9) who was justified by faith, not by law. Abraham is the father of all who have faith (v6-7). Faith does not equal to doing good works. In this case, we are talking about the REASON for salvation rather than the RESULT of salvation. An interesting analogy is imagining we got a sudden invitation to lunch with some royalties.. where we are told to RSVP.. to accept this invitation. So if we accept and RSVP, does it mean we are worthy of this invite? are we worthy to have casual lunch with the most important people regarded? Of course not.. However, it was accredited to Abraham righteousness not because he was worthy, but because he RSVP Jesus' invitation to trust in him So the act of salvation is all on God's part, on Jesus' part, not on our part of trying to "attain our goal by human effort" (v3).
The jews then continue to argue using the OT words of the curse of the law in v 10. However as Paul explains in v 13, Christ' death redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse where the one who is hung on a tree was cursed. Also 11-12 seems to show different pathways.. one is to live by the law, where you earn salvation and grace can play no part.. the other is to live by faith,where grace is the essential thing where we do not deserve and cant earn.
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I think all these aren't very clearly portrayed by my words.. but what really struck me was that we should not fall into the trap of starting well and not finishing well, to think that I have to do good deeds to preserve my salvation but to know that indeed it is all like a free gift and complete.. all i need to do is to continue trusting in him.. How comfortable are we of the idea of this free gift of salvation? Yes, we do not deserve and by no means could we earn this salvation through good works.. but just getting it Free? Is it really too hard to believe? But does it also mean that we don't need to do good deeds? More about this under the idea of the RESPONSE to our salvation.
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I'm actually half stoning as I type this now, because of my slacky habit of watching the korean drama coffee prince last night until 5+am and waking for church. Just felt that it was a pity that Kristy didn't get to hear about this free gift of salvation. She meant to come but had migraine in the morning =( I missed the wushu performance at fed square today!!!! Melbourne Uni Taichi and wushu club was meant to perform at 245 pm, the time that i reached fedsquare (after validating my sunday saver, before realising that it was an expired one, upon which halfway when i saw tram inspectors boarding the tram, ran off the tram and jogged towards the direction of fed square).. but apparently an item pulled out and everything got pushed forward =( darn it.
Went for 'tea' with the rest of the wushu ppl after cam-whoring =-p some went to san churrios and others to get donuts.. just sat, chill, looked at pix.. took a few group pix and left one by one. Got to get sharon to agree to come to church next sunday though =) might have to discuss with her and update her on the bg of galations.
finally received work shifts on wed/thu. Was deciding if i should take wed's shift coz i actually have a test on thu. But then again, if i have less time to study, hopefully i'll be more diligient and not slack time (like now).. so i'm working both shifts and i have a test on thu, assignment on fri.. not going to be easy.
pray for proper time management and to stop stoning. discipline! =( |
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| Jesus - Our Great High Priest |
[Aug. 30th, 2008|12:29 am] |
Hebrews 4:14-16 & 5:1-10
The message today given by the speaker was quite clear.
Some OT background on priesthood and sacrifice from our BS materials:
1. People are not allowed to directly approach God but God can provide a Mediator to be their representative.
2. Forgiveness is Costly. The use of sacrificial animals is a reminder that the punishment for sin is death.
3. The sacrifice can only be offered by a Priest appointed by God.
4. If the Right sacrifice has been offered, then the people are certainly Forgiven, as God has promised.
5. The whole system of priesthood and sacrifice is the gift of God to his people, by which he keeps them in fellowship with himself.
v14 -15
We Christians have
- a great high priest (our mediator whose act of redemption of sins is done just once)
- who has passed through the heavens ( and continues to intercede for us in heaven)
- Jesus the Son of God ( not bilogical but the richness of God in 3 ppl)
- Not unsympathetic to us (able to share our pain through prayer)
- He was tested every way like us ( so he knows when we confess as he remembers what it was to be human)
- He was without personal sin (that is why he can help us up and not pull us down)
v16 - Application
- Hold fast to our faith.
- Draw near to God, confident that he will deal with us in mercy (forgive us) and grace (to help us @ the right time)
5:1-10 Explanation
Contrasting the priesthood lines between Aaron and Jesus.
Small background knowledge.
Just looking at some internet resources on Levitical Priesthood. Aaron was apparently the first of the Levites to be appointed as a Priest as seen in Numbers 18:1, 8 or Exo 28:1. So traditionally I guess it can be said that from the Jews' perspective it was only common to have Priests from the line of the Levites.
Also, it was normal to have the line of Kings from Judah.
However, Jesus was appointed by God to be a "priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek", a different line of Priesthood.
What was so special about Melchizedek was that he was not only a high Priest, but he was also a King. (more on this in the following chapters of Hebrews)
The concept of someone being both a high priest and a king at the same time was definitely not common back in the days in the OT
So.
v1-4 tells us about the Priesthood that Aaron has and v5-10 talks more on the Priesthood that Jesus. While both tell of the priests being called and appointed by God, the main difference is also in the offerings. For Aaron, the sacrifice is often animals where he had to sacrifice for his sins first before being able to atone for the people's sins while for Jesus, he gave himself as the perfect sacrifice once and for all and became the source of eternal salation for all who obey him. The type of people whom they helped through these sacrificial system is for Aaron, the weak and ignorant but for Jesus, those who obey him.
v8-9 says "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered v9 and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.."
Of course, without reading the book in context, it might come up with controversal ideas.. like .. you mean Christ was not perfect beforehand? Why does he need to be made perfect?
The context in this chapter is on Jesus, our Great High Priest.. so while at first it seems like once Jesus was made perfect.. it's not Jesus the person but rather, his role in God's salvation plan that was made perfect as he suffered on the cross for our sins! The most enlightening moment in the BS =)
I guess BS gets interesting when we do a bit more research on the context of the chapter. Now that we have only 5 regular members, with 3 bible study leaders and the vice chair in OCF and myself, in the group.. I appreciate the opportunity to ask questions that I think about sometimes but never really asked for fear of misleading other members .. =)
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Not many new thoughts today in BS. Spent quite a bit of time discussing about the lack of numbers in our group. =( Felt quite sleepy as well.. Mum's reminding me to take chicken essence .. lol
Went to the wushu cross training exchange @ Monash last night. Met with the wushu peeps @ 4 plus before reaching about 6 for BBQ and 8 for training. It's been ages since I've been on a car journey for so long. Slept with Sharon resting her head on mine =x
The sports facility @ Monash is so awesome that I almost regretted going to Melbourne university! Darn it. Trapolines and neat carpets in their HUGE games hall. And their badminton courts were SOOO LARGE!
Test today was tough. Though a bit of revision with Thao made it slightly easier to understand. Got to start on my assignment soon. Then I got to study and prepare for my test as well as for tutorial work to be handed in! Should I even be going for the Girls Day In? =x Then there's also a birthday dinner. I need to buck up. Seriously. |
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| A Tragic Moment (Mark 10:17-22) |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|12:04 am] |
A sermon preached in a church somewhere in Boxhill. A friend whom I met recently directed me to the website for slides where their pastor preached on the man who had great wealth and wanted to seek eternal life.
Using " How to read the Bible Book by Book - A guided tour" by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart for some background knowledge,
Mark 10:17-22 is part of the second passion prediction and its aftermath.
The second passion prediction: Son of Man will be betrayed, be killed, but rise after three days Mark 9:31-32.
Apparently Jesus' disciples did not understand as they continue to squabble over who was the greatest amongst them. Jesus then took the opportunity to teach them about the nature of discipleship of which he touches it in Mark 10:17-22 where having riches makes it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven - which shocked the disciples who assumed that the rich have God's blessings.
Back to the slides on ppt for the sermon,
it tells of the man who has youth, wealth, morality and religion as well as position with a desire for eternal life. He comes to the Right person in the Right way, for the Right purpose at the Right time. He was however deceived by his thoughts that salvation can be Earned/ is a reward. He made an Earthly/Eternal decision when he knew of the consequences of following Christ (losing all his wealth). The sermon notes then challenges the readers/listeners in 3 ways, to invite Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour, to rededicate your life to him and to always seek to honour and obey Him.
What struck me most I guess was what could have been done for this rich young man. He had been blessed by God to have all that he had, his youth, wealth, morality and religion as well as a position with a desire for eternal life. That he could have the wonderful opportunity of meeting with Christ face to face with the purpose of seeking eternal life was just such a unique and blessed thing to experience! Though he had the wrong conception that Salvation could be earned through the keeping of the law, it would have been comforting at that time to see people striving to keep to the law of Moses (as opposed to the others in this fallen world) .. and surely he could be updated and informed of how salvation could actually be attained. Yet it is the point of decision that turns all things around. It is when he finds out what is in for him that turns him away. He chose temporal satisfaction of wealth over eternal life with God the father!
Often I fear that that is the same outcome for me. Though I confess that Christ is my Lord, am I living my life as though I chose eternal life over temporal satisfaction of wealth? At this turning point in my life, at the end of my 3 years in university, where do I go? What do I choose? A job? Studies? To be 'noble' and become a missionary? If I choose the 'normal' path of work, does it say Im pursuing wealth over eternal life? Yet I can't just not look for a job, I'll otherwise be depending on my parents' hard earn money.. How then can I honour my father and mother? Or perhaps its just the laziness that's making me think this way? I'm digressing. Just need to figure out direction after graduation (if i can graduate)
On the other hand, thinking about those people who are like this rich young man. Putting aside his wealth, he would be portraying many people who work to keep the law of Moses yet be misinformed on how salvation is actually attained. It's our duty as those who do know how salvation is attained to pass this message! Yet to do so with gentleness and be well equipped with the word that we might be able to defend the hope that we believe in .. is such a challenge. How often do we see results from it all? But take comfort in knowing that it might at least sprout a seed in their unbelieving hearts that others down the road might be able to benefit from and harvest the work that you have first started. My problem would be continuing down this road to retain relations to know if such things do happen. |
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| God - contact with the invisible |
[Aug. 26th, 2008|02:10 am] |
Knowing God, or anyone else
It is incomprehensible that God should exist, and it is incomprehensible that He should not exist; that the soul should be joined to the body, and that we should have no soul; that the world should be created, and that it should not be created...
- Blaise Pascal
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How do we know that something is there? How do we know that God is there when we cant 'sense' him with the 5 senses that we have? Do we have brains? How can we be certain? The brain cant see (even if it's exposed to light), cant feel (temperature doesn't fluctuate more than 2-3 degrees), it can't hear (it's so cushioned against sound that loud noises only makes it vibrate ever so slightly).. this isolation of the brain means everything that we use to form our knowledge comes simply from a series of electric signals.. How do we know that the postman is really the regular postman and not his 'evil' twin who might be waiting for a chance at a burglary? Don't you think it all requires faith in the relationship when we choose to open the door to the postman?
Most people take it for granted that other minds and persons existence even though it is more evident through this internet age that there can be a powerful sense of uncertainty when people can mask themselves off as others. Yet individual minds often perceive the 'same matter' in a different way. For Eg, the 12 disciples of Jesus all followed him for 3 years yet clearly Judas and Peter drew very different conclusions about Jesus!
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To recognise that knowing others requires faith. Also, our 5 senses are never enough to tell us about the complete representation of another person because there is still a mind inside that remains unaccessible to us. We believe in other minds because we encounter them all day long by relating to them. We take risks at these commitments.
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While these might be applicable to our relationship with God, sometimes we can't sense Him. Indeed communicating with the infinite God presents a analogy of a man communicating with a wood tick which would lead to disappointment on both sides. While sometimes we want God to relate to us on our level, to speak our language, yet God being the infinite and unbounded God, has no reason to confine himself to our level.. Rather he seeks from us a different correspondence in a spiritual realm for growth in justice, mercy, peace, grace and love .. more like Him. "Love is a decision, not a feeling"..
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What a challenge this chapter poses to me! To know the basics of how relationships work .. based on faith.. I've always found it hard to trust people sometimes .. oh ye of little faith..
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It's hard to reflect @ 2.45am. I lost my train of thoughts typing this up. Shall target to finish earlier the next time. 1am max!
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The left sprained ankle has led to reliance on my right leg which is currently aching from the increased workload.
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