AK84 Journal

A look into the animal kingdom

2007-09-17T00:53:00.000+08:00

Hillsong

2007-08-17T00:37:00.000+08:00

Blessed

Reaching For You

I Will Run To You (The image of the background choir paints in my mind of the image
on how the Levite praised God :) )

Eagles Wing

Evermore

How Great Is Our God

Mighty to Save

From The Inside Out

In Your Freedom

Delirious?

2007-08-16T23:52:00.000+08:00

Majesty (Here I Am)

Miracle Maker

What A Friend I've Found

History Maker

Did You Feel The Mountain Tremble?

I Could Sing of Your Love Forever

Change The World (Live) - Eric Clapton

2007-08-01T00:44:00.000+08:00

Anyone heard of him? Guess the older generation should have... cuz he's superb in guitar... Meet Eric Clapton

Note: For best enjoyment of the video, listen with headphone/earphone

Touching Skit

2007-07-29T23:49:00.000+08:00

Some videos that glorify His name

2007-07-25T22:38:00.000+08:00

Lord Of All - Hillsong London

Hosanna - Hillsong United

My Glorious - Delirious

Miracle Maker - Delirious

Beautiful Saviour - Planetshakers

More Than Life - Hillsong

Some photos from my new place

2007-07-25T21:52:00.000+08:00

My working place (ie studying area) I like the way I arrange the desks :)

My sleeping area

The other side of my room

My room is actually the top floor of a 3-storey terrace like house... so its actually the attic!! but too bad no window at the ceiling to look out into the sky... but I love my room :)

Back to perth

2007-07-22T18:52:00.001+08:00

Back to perth... and another cycle of mugging is going to begin, officially, starts tomorrow..

Temperature was 14 degree celsius when I touched down yesterday morning... guess now should be below that.. heheh... and it will be colder in the coming days...

oh.. just got my new room and its like double the size of the hostel i used to satyed for the past 1 year... and its cheaper than staying in hostel... furthermore, i'm the only one staying at the third floor (its a 3 storey house) which is the attic.. heeh... so thx God man heehhe

anyway i got to go and play soccer... scare when school starts no time to play and i need to find back my fitness!!! :P

cya!!!

Back in Singapore

2007-06-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

Well, finally back in Singapore for this 1 month holiday. Sudden change in weather (currently, Perth having winter andf Singapore having "summer") and I'm sick now hehhehe...

Hopefully will get better by the end of this week and then should be able to go out for outings with my church friends heheh

Anyway since I'm back, I wont be blogging till I go back to Perth for study on the 21st July.

:)

Encountering God

2007-04-09T00:16:00.000+08:00

Just came back from church camp... my first FCC camp... was very gd...

Went with a burden heart as I had tons of sch works to do and mid semester exams are around te corner... but came back with my spirit lifted up...

It was actually a church cum encounter camp so ya... every worship session, the presence of God was superbly strong... and the young ones was very enthu when worshipping Him...

8 sermon sessions in 4 days... All point to one topic - reaching out, impacting the world...

During the first session, pastor was preaching and then he mentioned about "G12 vision" (FCC's vision is not G12 btw) and he said that G12 only works with the cross... yup true... it works with prayers onli... so ya... lets continue to pray abt FCBC's vision (G12 vision) that each of us will find our 12 and to make disciples-makers... Amen!

And then was during one of the other sessions that God really speak to me... You see, there's a lonely guy in my hostel that was always alone.. no friends, having his meals in the dining hall alone... my frens were always making fun of him behind his back and it never dawn on me that he was one of Jesus' lost sheep... Yup a heart of compassion for the lost out in the world...

And then during the last nite... was having a great time in the presence of God...
Was soaking in his presence and telling him about my inferiority towards ppl and my failure to establish relationship with new ppl around me... and then I wept... and God revealed to me that He is my maker and my creator... making me for who I am and it's not about how small or inferior I am but it's about how big and mighty my Creator is...

That's how wonderful our God is... always with us and never fail to listen to our problems... :)

Victory!

2007-03-25T01:38:00.000+08:00

Time: 1.40am
Super tired so shall keep this post short and sweet.

Was reading LS daily devotion and today is on Joshua 9 - 11. A couple of verses just caught my attention.

' "Do not be afraid of them," the Lord said to Joshua, "for I will give you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you." '

- Joshua 10:8

You see, everytime before a nation went into war with the other nations, the Lord will definitely speak to the leader of the nation to affirm him of the victory that He has already planned before we know it.

"In a single campaign Joshua conquered all these kings and their land, for the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for his people."

- Joshua 10:42

Yes! The God of Israel, the Lord in our life, our God is fighting for us in the season of victory. Even though many spiritual attacks had already begun, even though many of the times we may feel defeated in this season of victory, always know that our Almighty One is fighting for us and not us who is fighting the battles alone. :)

Continue to hold on to God and do not lose the battles. Amen! :)

Hi again

2007-03-20T16:28:00.000+08:00

Was searching for interesting videos on youtube and came across this video... Dun really know wat videos are they except from "The Passion of Christ"... Enjoy and be bless :)

Who Am I - Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

Hey yo

2007-03-20T16:18:00.000+08:00

Since quite some times i din post liao... hahha..busy busy MAN i am hehhee...anyway, was busy with tons of assignments pilling up my room... but thx God for His grace that i managed to submit one assignment after another before their individual dateline and one more to go due this thurs hehhee...

Beside assignments, was busy training up with my soccer kakis at hall for a soccer tournament and we played our first match yesterday and won 4 - 2 hahaha... but the most amazing thing is not about the win or the scoreline... the most amazing thing is immediately after the match, just felt the presence of God on the field... u see, our God is a God of surprise and I din expect to experience His presence over there...

After the game, was shaking hands with my opponents and was looking at their facial expression and clearly they are sad about losing (i mean who dun... hehehe) and then the phase "compassion of the heart" came into my mind... God always teach us about compassion... compassion of the lost and needy etc... and indeed after the match... compassion for them... and then the whole good feeling about winning the game just gone and in came the compassionate feeling for them...

Maybe God is teaching me something here... and surely I will pray and ask Him... :)

Back to school

2007-02-25T00:51:00.000+08:00

After spending 3 months plus back in Singapore for holiday, now I'm backin Perth and school gonna starts tomorrow. Mix feeling about it...

Happy as school starts hehhe... maybe its my 2 years and 2 months army that makes me wanna study more...

Nervous as in don't know what God has prepare for me this coming year in Perth and my modules has yet to be enrolled... Gonna pray about it man...

Some guitar videos... Enjoy!!!

2007-01-27T00:22:00.000+08:00

This guy is really great man... *clap clap clap...playing the song "canon d"

Victor Wooten and his bro doing a bass battle.. check it out... their skills are truely amazing :)

Victor wooten playing "Amazing grace" solely on his bass!!! Cool.. :)

2007-01-27T00:15:00.000+08:00

Had been working for nearly 1 month liao... and I believe that God really placed me in this working place... Knew a few christian bros and sis from Cornerstone and my boss who claimed to be a christian yet does not go to church... well I wouldn't say that he's a christian but then gonna pray by God's power that he will be brought back to church some days soon by one of us...

but anyway, y I feel so strongly that it is by no chance that God gave me this work... Hmmm....cuz sometimes during working period we would talk abt christianity and stuffs and most of the times boss would tell me why he dun wan to go to church anymore... everytime we talk abt these issues... hey... I can talk to him non stop abt why he should go back to church etc (this is not my usual self) and I believe that God is training me to talk to non believer abt christianity and to stand firm in my faith and in God...

and then lastly wanna thx God for my music that I get to learn new bass techniques and skills and scales from guitarpraise.blogspot.com... :)

Job 38

2007-01-15T00:23:00.001+08:00

Read Job 38 and 39...

and one of the sentences that God spoke to Job really struck me...

Job 38:3 - "Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them."

"...you MUST answer them."

Most of the time, we will wan God to answer our questions for Him. However if God really answer our questions, sometimes it may be quite scary... just like when God finally spoke in Job 38 after many chapters of how Job complained to God, He told Job that he MUST answer the questions He is about to ask him.

Just imagine... if the president of the United States ask you some questions and he said you MUST asnwer them... what will you feel? Thus job 38:3 really struck me alot...

Muar trip 2006

2007-01-08T00:17:00.000+08:00

Was suppose to post this up when I returned from Muar trip during the christmas week 2006... but totally forgot about it (or maybe was too tired to post it up)...

so now... decided to post it as God had indeed spoke to me through this Muar trip with some of my network friends and pastors' and their 2 lovely kids...

During the very first session, as we were worshipping God through songs and guitar, there God spoke to me. He brought me back to a scene from the movie, "The Passion of Christ", where a man was pulled from a crowd to help Jesus carried the cross. Well, simply God just wanna tell me that just as the man, which represents us, was helping Jesus carrying His cross, Jesus too will help us when we are carrying heavy burdens on our shoulders.

On the second day, during one of the sessions, God suddenly reminded me... He asked, "If I really love Jesus, will I be feeding His sheeps? If I really love Him, will I be taking care of His sheeps?" And then I began to ask myself, what does "sheeps" in this context mean... and it dawns on me that "sheeps" refers to our unsaved friends in our community (eg. workplaces, schools etc). If we really love Jesus, we would do all means to save the unsaved... ie our friends out there in our community. And then it reminded me of the book Alvin bought for my cell... its called "out of the saltshaker". It's a book on evangelism and it is by no coincidental that what God spoke to me in Muar goes in the same direction as what my cell has been discussing on which week and that... ITS TIME TO REACH OUT.

Psalm 23 vesus 4 says "Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me." and yes... our God does not break His promises and indeed, He is with us when we are busy reaching our to our friends.

This year is a year of victory... Thus dear livingstoners we must claim this victory and believe that our friends will all be saved. Amen! :)

2006-12-14T17:59:00.000+08:00

Mahjong really tired me out. Played 12 hrs straight throughout the night and just woke up only. But thx God for ming that my skills on mahjong has improved... though there's still room for improvement...

got some problems with my re-enrollment for the modules for next sem... invalid as the status (which means I can't re-enrol yet cuz I did not meet the pre-requisites)... send an emailed to the ppl back in UWA and I pray that nth will happen to the re-enrollment process man.. gonna pray about it.... pls pray for it ok? thx thx...

2006-12-12T00:49:00.000+08:00

Part 1:
Weekly cell activity: Discussion on the book "Out of the saltshaker" bought by Alvin

The book talks about evangelism and how christians are hold back when it comes to evangelising our Saviour's works (At least that's what I know the book is about since I have yet to recieve my own copy due to out of stock from the shop).

Read through chapter 1 and as I read through chapter one, God slowly reveals the part of me when it comes to evangelising.

A person who does not have the courage to talk about christianity to friends. That's me. A person who does not initiate the talk about christianity to people around me. That's me. A person who will talk a lot and with confidence about christianity only when someone asks me about.

And then, after finishing reading chapter one, decided that I will be the person who does not wait upon people asking me about my Saviour but rather the one who will initiate the talk. That's what I want to be.

Part 2:
Just got back my results. Didn't do well. Failed one of my major module. It was quite shocking to me. Expected it to pass. Instead the one that I expected it to do badly or fail, pass. So what is God telling me? I got to find out. Was indeed very sad and shocking but then I stumble upon 3 words from Sky's blog...

"It is written".

Yup. It is indeed written. My life is already written by God. The direction I'm going through and the results I'm getting in uni has already been written by Him.

And I believe, by faith, that as my uni life goes on, I will realise why God gives me these results. And by the end of the day, I will still give thanks unto Him.

P.S if God is for me, who can be against me.

Back in sg

2006-12-05T23:20:00.000+08:00

ok...got back to Singapore like for one week or so liao..too lazy to count hahhaa....
been busy fixing my internet connection..now its FINALLY done..heheh...

anyway, since i'm in sg, i wont be blogging for a while hehhe...unless... God speaks to me and i will blog abt wat He told me abt..yup..so until then....this blog will be done for the moment.... :)

Be blessed...

2006-10-25T08:05:00.000+08:00

He died for us...Be blessed by it...

"So I stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all"

- "The Stand"
Hillsong United

changed

2006-10-25T00:39:00.000+08:00

ok decided to change my blog skin cuz realise that this one is much neater than the old one.. byeeeeeeeeeeeee "one skin" hhee...

Some pics from perth

2006-10-03T12:19:00.000+08:00

International night at my hall... :)
outside my hostel room(the corridor)
Before the performance at international night
trying our best to cook during rockingham trip
rockingham beach

Me and josh tan

Not an electric guitarist after all... hehhe...
Gerard, Sherwin, josh, ben me and shui

A meaningful story

2006-09-24T14:04:00.000+08:00

Hey just recieved this email from winnie. Guess it was a meaningful story that I wanna share to all those who are reading my blog. :)

THE ROOM
17-year-old Brian Moore had only a short time to write something for a class. The subject was what Heaven was like. "I wowed 'em," he later told his father, Bruce. "It's a killer. It's the bomb. It's the best thing I ever wrote.." It also was the last.

Brian's parents had forgotten about the essay when a cousin found it while cleaning out the teenager's locker at Teary Valley High School. Brian had been dead only hours, but his parents desperately wanted every piece of his life near them-notes from classmates and teachers, his homework.

Only two months before, he had handwritten the essay about encountering Jesus in a file room full of cards detailing every moment of the teen's life. But it was only after Brian's death that Beth and Bruce Moore realized that their son had described his view of heaven. "It makes such an impact that people want to share it. You feel like you are there." Mr. Moore said.

Brian Moore died May 27, 1997, the day afterMemorial Day. He was driving home from a friend's house when his car went off Bulen-Pierce Road in Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He emerged from the wreck unharmed but stepped on a downed power line and was electrocuted. The Moores framed a copy of Brian's essay and hung it among the family portraits in the living room. "I think God used him to make a point. I think we were meant to find it and make something out of," Mrs. Moore said of the essay. She and her husband want to share their son's vision of life after death. "I'm happy for Brian. I know he's in heaven. I know I'll see him."

Brian's Essay: The Room...

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed at." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.Often there were many more cards than I expected.

Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched", I realized the files grew to contain their contents The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it,shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented. When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content.I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it.. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own.He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just criedwith me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished." I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."-Philippians 4:13
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3: 16

Rockingham trip was great

2006-09-13T01:22:00.000+08:00

The trip to Rockingham, just 1 hr drive south from Perth, was great and fun. Have a fun time navigating to Rockingham and finding our accomodation on the spot. Hehe...

It was good for a bonding session with Gerard, Ah Shui and gang (Tall nette, Tiny and Shiling).

Play some beach games at the beach. Mainly, freebies, soccer and even dog and bones.. hahaha... and oh ya, captain's ball... hehhehe...

And celebrated Gerard's birthday (supposedly to be on wed) but we decided to celebrate during the trip and it was a 3 days celebration! hehhee... hope Gerard enjoyed it and I'm sure he enjoyed evey moment of it rite?? hehehhe

* the photos are up on the photo gallery. Enjoy! :)

Where are You, God???

2006-09-02T01:17:00.000+08:00

Yes, the thoughts just come to my mind. Where are You, God? Are You real in my life right now in Perth? Are You really here with me when You said You will be before I left for Perth?

Maybe it's because I'm too stressed out due to mid-sem tests. It may seems like a small issue. "Hey, it's just a mid-sem tests what. No big deal." Well, it's BIG deal because it's 4 mid-sem tests in 2 consecutive days. And at this period of time when I'm busy studying, I cant seem to sense the presense of God anymore. Just cant seem to feel that He's with me. Even when I'm playing guitar, worshipping God alone in my room, I just don't sense His presense.

Guess maybe it's because I'm too caught up with my school works then I tend to neglect God so much so that I didn't go cell group this week and then planning not to go church this week. Don't know why but just thought that monday is my tests and I have yet to make ample preparation for it. Is the thoughts from the Devil? Can someone please pray for me? If it's from the Devil, I will reject it in the name of Jesus.

Beside studying, there's some rehearsals for some event in my hall and the rehearsals happen to be on the same day as my tests. So after tests at night, I have to go for rehearsals. Never been so tough for me and I don't why I'm living a very packed schedule over here.

Just finished worshipping God in my room with my guitar. At first, just really want the presense of the Holy Spirit to fall in my room. Negative. Can't sense him. Singing the song "Emmanuel", hoping to remind and convince me that God is Emmanuel does not help. But half way through that song, He's there. He reminded me in Genesis that Joseph was sold by his brothers to Egypt and that God is always with him in Egypt. And Joseph eventually was made the ruler of Egypt and then in the end, he returned to his homeland after he met up with his brothers and forgave them for what they did to him.

Same thing, God reminded me that even when I'm having a period of spiritual dryness right now, He's always with me and always in control of things.

Yes Lord, You are indeed here with me. Even when You only speaks to me a short while, You have affirmed me of Your presense in Perth. Amen. :)

New hair style

2006-08-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

ok.. this's my new hair style... though not much different from my previous one.. and it costs me 22 bucks...hhehehe...

Christian - a living testimony for the living God

2006-08-20T01:52:00.000+08:00

How ironic is it to say that I'm a christian and yet doing things that makes God unhappy and sad...

Celebrated fren's birthday in the hall and ended with some of them getting drunk... 2 of them are christians... kind of shocking, at the same time, sad to me.... as the words of God is not in them...

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess..." - Ephesians 5:18

There's a reason why God told us not to get drunk. He didn't tell us not to drink. In fact, we, Christians can drink but not to get drunk. The reason is when we get drunk, we may lose concious about ourselves and may do things that are sinful in God's eyes.

And then to tell people that I'm going church and yet not living a life filled with God's words in me is equivalent to being a Sunday Christian. Living a Sunday Christian life is lving a double-sided life - being "holy" ONLY on weekend and living the rest of the week on worldly stuffs. Living this type of life may send the wrong messageto the others. The others may think that we, christian are just christian by name and not living by God's words and this will lead to the problem of reaching out to them ans they may think that christian are not much different from them and so why must they accept Christ in their life.

Maybe its the devil's works. Maybe the Devil already knew why God planted me in Perth and His plan for me over here. Well, I just pray that God will defeat the devil and bound him. And I will pray for them that they may be a good living testimony for God and to send the correct message to the others that christians are in fact different from them.

May God speak to them and protect them from the constant influence of the devil. Amen!

God reigns over all.

I'm back!!!

2006-08-19T13:46:00.000+08:00

Wah... its been quite sometimes I've blog eh... some of the LS people back in Singapore bug me to blog something... hahha... well, I'm kind of busy with school works and trying to catch up with the rest of the people taking the same units as me... So cant blame to for not blogging man... hehe... so now I got some time so ya.. I'm blogging now...

Kind of get used to life here in Perth... but not the study life... its different style of learning as compared to SG. And probs keep coming and it wont stop... so have to pray more often and to have faith that God will settle it...

Signs of politics start to arise in my hall... though not much but then I believe more of these will come sooner or later... Arguments arise between hall mates and I admit that sometimes I'm too hot-tempered too... maybe cuz of my school works... So have to pray abt it and deal with it in the name of Jesus!!!

To a lighter issue, me and some of my hall mates will be performing in my hall's international night in september... oh.. I'm not playing the bass... my fren will be playing and I will be playing accoustic and electric... but then, me is still constantly getting in touch of bass... so dun worry ya... I'm still a bassist for God!!! In fact, I may buy a better bass than my old one in Perth.. ya...

Ok, I have to go soon. Need to go library with my fren to study... and its saturday.. hahha... well ppl are relaxing and me is mugging in uni... but its for God...ya....

P.S. to all LS people, if you see me online and I have not been blogging, pls tell me to blog for accountability sake. :)

Tired yet happy :)

2006-08-06T21:16:00.000+08:00

hmm... today after church went for some bible study.. its kind of equivalent to FCBC's SOL training... yup.. today is the first lesson.... hehhe...

then after tt went to play soccer with many of my church ppl... on the field... so u can see how many ppl in FCC are soccer-fanatic... yup... cool eh... one thing, i can enjoy playing soccer once again.. 2nd, i can keep fit too hahhaa...

anyway i gtg liao.. cuz super tired after the soccer... Ciao!! :)

My first cell gourp meeting in perth

2006-08-03T00:19:00.000+08:00

Just came back from my first ever cell group meeting in perth... at cherie's place... nice house... cosy too... kind of reminds me of parkway builder where we had our cell outing last time before FCBC moved to expo...

we play a game called mafia... the concept is kind of same as the bears and hunters game which we had to find out who are the bears who killed the citizen in a town thingy...heheh...

then we have worship session... its free-flow!!! no song sheets... we just sing as the Holy Spirit leads us and we prayed as the Holy Spirit leads us... yup...

and then there's some sort of bible study i would call it... hehe... on the book of Acts... yup

and then the cutest thing is.... there's refreshments after cell group ended!!! hahaha.. not bad eh... cuz i have light dinner before tt so abit hungry after cell hahaha...

so yup... tt's my first cell outing.... will be more to come... yay!!! :)

onli 2 pics i took since coming over to perth..hehe..

2006-07-30T22:30:00.000+08:00

Doing well in uni for Him

2006-07-28T23:47:00.000+08:00

Ok... Tot i would only blog on sunday but cannot take it liao, especially when i just came back from "Friday Night Out" at FCC. It is equivalent to our very own Livingstone network meeting every month but this event at FCC is only on the last friday of every month. There's praise and worship and preaching by pastor.

While i was there today, during the praise and worship time, i suddenly feel at home. Suddenly feel tt i am in magic box, at livingstone network meeting...oh... how i miss tt place and every month's network meeting man... anyway, the praise and worship was very long... like 1 hr plus...

and then an invited guest... called dave ( if i remember his name correctly and i dun even noe whether he's a pastor...heez...) came and preached abt living for God and submitting myself completely to Him. and then he showed a video abt a true story of a father and his son doing a marathon. His son is brain-damage and is kind of wheel-chair bound. But his son told his dad once that he dun feel he is bounded by wheel-chair when he's being pushed on the wheelchair by his dad, thus they decided to take part in some kind of a triathlon race (swim, bike and run). So during the swim event, the son will be lying on a rubber boat which is tied by a rope to his dad's anke and he's dad would swim. Then for the bike, the son will be sitting in front of his dad while he's dad pedals and for running, he will be sitting on his wheelchair while he's dad will push the wheelchair while jogging. and they took abt 1 full day (from morning till nite) to complete the event. Kind of tiring for the dad, isn't it?

Well, our God is like the dad i mentioned above. He's the one who will push us when we have trouble, when we are caught up in a situation which is beyond our control etc until we reach the finishing line. Just like what Dave said, "When we are running a race for God, Satan will not run beside us and said, 'Come on! You can do much better than this.' Instead Satan will try to make us fall and try to demoralise us."

When i was listening to the sermon, I was thinking, "Hey, isn't that what Satan has been trying to do to me ever since uni starts?" Spirits of doubts linger within me during the first week of sch. Dunno whether what modules i enrolled in will be the path God wans me to take. Dunno whether i will fail this module or what. Hey but then God speaks to me during the sermon. Told me that He's in control and should live a life for Him. Hence i shall study well in uni not for my career in the future, not for myself or my family. It's for Him.

First service at FCC and first day at uni

2006-07-24T20:27:00.000+08:00

Went to Faith Community Church yesterday with the help of Cherie (she drives). The church is at the south of Perth and took around 20 mins to reach there by car. It's abit far from my hostel but I will stay at FCC as long as I'm studying in Australia. The church is smaller than FCBC in terms of the building and the congre which I attended at 11.30am yesterday.

Hmm... but it's more cosy and it's like everyone knows everyone in the church and its more family-like, given that the congre is small, like 200 plus people in the service I went to. And when I stepped into the church building, it reminded me of TC becuz of the "banner" that says "Jehovah Rapha" etc being hanged at the side of the wall. After service, went for lunch with some of the church people (which I kind of forgot their names except Cherie and Daniel whom I know him thru playing soccer...heez...).

And then today is my first day and school and guess what... it rains!!! Yes! it's the blessing of God that rain down on perth and on me and assure me of my studies in UWA. Cuz before that... just feel that I dunno wat to expect when taking this path of studying in UWA and then my sis reminded me of the story of Abraham and how God asked him to go to the mountain to sacrifice his son, Isaac - the act of obedience and I obey God's command for me to come to Australia to study and I believe that God will bless me when I'm in Perth cuz I'm following God's commands.
After all, God has affirmed me 3 times on the day before I left for Australia (see the previous post). :)

our God is not only mighty, powerful but also...

2006-07-20T09:35:00.000+08:00

Oh did i mention that our God is not only the Almighty One and powerful, He is also very cute. Y? cuz He affirmed me of my studies in aust just before i fly off on sat thru pastor yolanda, pastor seng lee and our own dearest pastor lawrence tan.

before going to changi airport, pastor yolanda msged me and then when i reached changi airport, saw pastor seng lee and his family returning from china and then of cuz pastor lawrence tan sending me off at the airport.

so ya... our God can be quite cute sometimes...always giving us surprise when we least expected it. :)

Greeting to all back in Singapore

2006-07-19T16:47:00.000+08:00

Greeting from the Aussie land. It's been some times since I last touch my blog. Cuz I've not been able to get any internet in my hostel room. I'm using my fren's internet account now. So maybe when I got my own internet account then I will be online more often.

Anyway, just wanna share with all my frens and family back in Singapore that I'm fine over here in Australia, even though I'm still not use to the uni life and the weather over here. It's around 1 degree celsius this morning. Hehe... But thx God there's heater in my hostel room ( the pic is taken in my hostel room after some tidy up) but it will auto-off every 1 hr so its no pt...hehehe... Well, there's 3 meals a day provided and I can have 2nd serving too, without any extra charges. hehehe...

And there's around 40 singaporean staying in the same hall as me. In my floor alone (I'm staying at the ground floor), all of them are singaporean and guess what... 1 of them are Christian!!!! from AMK methodist church and he too has found a church at perth. So thx God for all these singaporean over here. I feel the singapore mood over here becuz of them. :)

Oh, this coming sun will be my first svc at FCC (Faith community church) which is pastor benny ho's church. Kind of exciting man and I'm gonna serve over there but of cuz when I graduate, I will definitely come back to FCBC and serve there. yup....

Oh, tomolo i gonna go perth city and fremantle with my hall mates. Nv been there since i touch down at perth on sat. Heard its a boring place though... hehhee... oh and the food are super ex man... one plate of chay kay teow is like AUS11.90.... hehehe...

Anyway I got to go liao... will go online more often once I have my own internet account. Currently, I'm using my fren's one...so ya..see u all then... byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and God bless!!! :)

Last nite in Singapore before flying off to Australia

2006-07-14T02:43:00.000+08:00

That's rite. My last nite in Singapore before going over to Australia. Spent the nite watching "Pirates of the Carribean" with Sky, Pam, ZR, Sylvia and Vivien. It was quite a long-winded show. About 2 and a half hours long. And the ending was like...lame.... So I shall wait for part 3 to come out. Hmm...maybe can watch with the same group of people again. Yup...

Went to eat supper together and chat for some times before taking cab home. Nonetheless, our friendship has grown so much stronger than when I first know them. Never forget Josh's guys, Jedrick, ZC, Kenny, Kenneth, Christian and Sky, the YA peeps, Vivien, Pam, Sylvia, Hew yenn, Winnie, Lijuan, Xiaowen, Joy, Pris, Flavian and Joyce and the rest from the livingstone family, Junming, Joycelyn, Rachel (maybe we can combine band and play together, see how does it feel...hehhe), Jennifer, the Weiling's gals, those crazy times when we combine cell together in parkway builders eh and in Expo hall 9 and of cuz my dearest cell, BB, ZR, Aaron, Reagan, Tony, Hubert aka "bird bird" and Clarence and my spiritual dad, Alvin. Let's grow together spiritually even when I'm away in Aussie. Well, I will be back in 4 months times (that's 16 weeks times, I got it rite this time round, Viv) and we shall spend the time together like we once had. :)

Few more hours and I will be in the plane to Australia. Alone and not so alone in the plane to Aussie. Becuz our God is Emmanuel. He will be with me always and forever when I'm in Australia and even when I'm in the plane.

Hmm...how shall I end this post? Hmm.... nevermind, I shall go pack my stuffs and sleep. :)

Would you buy a guitar bag for $190??

2006-07-07T00:36:00.000+08:00

Went to Swee Lee today to get a hard cover guitar bag for my accoustic guitar. After all, I will be bringing my accoustic over to Australia rather than my bass. Hope my bass dun miss me. It has been serving me for quite sometimes liao..kind of think of it...quite sad sia... Should I sell it away and get a new and better bass or should I keep it for memory sake? Hmm...I'm in a dilemma man...

Anyway, the pic is of my new guitar bag. Quite a heavy-duty thing rite... hahaha... and I spent $190 on it...can't believe it man...

Old me or slacker me???

2006-07-05T21:31:00.000+08:00

Went swimming with Zhengrong at Tampines swimming complex (now I know where it is...hehe). Super tiring after swimming just 3 laps...can't believe it man...

Maybe I'm too old liao (22 years btw...I'm man not boy!!!) or maybe I slack too much at home since ORD-ing in march this year. So its like slacking for 3 months plus. Never even bother to go jogging or swimming until now. Haha... Die lah!! Like that how to survive reservist next time...AH!!!! Nevermind... I shall train hard and study smart in Australia and return to singapore a macho man...hahaha...joking joking...I will still return to Singapore the same Andrew...the lame and boyish Andrew (according to sylvia and co. I'm still a boy...pls comment on it...thx...heez...).

After swimming 3 laps, we just chit-chat abit in the pool then we went to have our dinner. That's about all folks!!! Whats more you wanna know? Stay tune for the next post on channel AK84 journal. Cheers! :)

Choir!

2006-07-03T00:44:00.000+08:00

Wah...today's service was good man. Was singing in e choir and jumping on stage for God man. Though I can't really sing well, God still puts me for choir. Isn't He just lovely when He knows that I can't really sing and yet He still wants me to sing for choir.

First time during praise song that I jumped till super tired. I never jump so much and sing so loud before during service. Well, maybe God is telling me to jump and sing for him more when I'm not doing choir duty.

Next week, last service before I fly off to Australia.

Wrong notes! Off beats! But...

2006-07-02T01:30:00.000+08:00

Just came back from my network meeting cum youth party celebration at Magicbox. Performed in a band and sadly, my fingers don't want to listen to me. They stiffen up when it's my band to perform. What sad thing it is when I kept playing the wrong notes and I kept going off beats. Hey but wait!!! I'm doing this for God and He must be proud of me to perform for Him. Him and only Him.

Suddenly, God brought me back to this year cell retreat at Muar, Malaysia. He just reminded me of the prayer that my spiritual dad, Alvin, prayed for me. He prayed that God has given me a talent for playing bass and I should use it for His glory. And I definitely use it for Him. Still remember, last year cell retreat to Muar, every single cell member set this year resoultion. What we want to see for ourself this year. What's our aim for this year etc. And I still remember one of my resolutions for this year is to use my bass for God's glory. And God answered that and quite amazing that I have been using my bass for His glory. From playing in network meeting a couple of times to leaders' meeting, my bass has been working tirelessly for His purpose and that is to minister to fellow christian brothers and sisters.

And I will never forget how amazing my God is. Just a few years ago (think it was like 3 years plus), my sister started learning guitar. And I was quite puzzled about it so once, I was having a chat with my sister in her room until the conversation with her was quite boring until I picked up her guitar and asking her how to play. Well, since young, I hated music. Don't really get all the meanings of those music language. That's why I hated it. But the strange thing is when I picke up my sis' guitar, I felt the urge to learn guitar and when I learned a new chord, I will be so happy and excited to learn the next chord. Well, time flies and through the very first moment I picked up a guitar for the very first time until now, God continuously tell me that He has given me a skill to play guitar. From learning guitar from my JI fren, Jeff, till knowing Ivan who taught me bass when we were army mates, God constantly put in me a passion to play guitar.

And looking back at how much my dear God has been doing in my life, it's really amazing. From a so-called anti-music person to a music-lover, God has indeed changed me! :) And I'm always grateful for that becuz I can serve Him on stage with the band! And I believe that even when I'm in Australia, my passion for music and for Him will never ever dies for He will be with me always and will constantly speak to me in Australia. :)

So, this is a testimony on how I pick up music. Though not good enough, I will still continue to work hard for God. Playing for Him and only Him. Amen! :)

Change plan again

2006-06-29T01:21:00.000+08:00

Wah... have to change song again. Just came back from rehearsal at magic box for the 1st july event. Well, never mind...maybe God is teaching me something. First time being a so-called band leader. Have to find songs, sent the scores to all the band members and often work into the late of night. Well, God is teaching me something!!! Never really try out leadership when I was in army and indeed before I fly off to Australia, God is giving me some leadership responsibility.
It may be quite hard for me to lead the band becuz I may be indecisive at times but by faith, God will teach me the meaning of decisiveness and how to be a good leader.

Oh, did I mention I never really jam secular songs before. In fact this is the first time I, with my band, will be jamming secular songs infront of crowds. Well, kind of worrying for me but it's for God yup.

God will be with us becuz He's Emmanuel! :)

Tired!!!!

2006-06-25T20:55:00.000+08:00

Just came back from church. Super tired yet God wants me to serve Him more. Amen! I will do it for You!

Will be playing in the band for this coming saturday network youth outreach event at magicbox and I'm e "so-called band leader" who are organising the songs to play and finalising them and sending out to the rest of the band members and the vocalists. And it's the first time I jam non-christian songs...hehe..lacking some confident but hey...God will be with me! And some of the network ppl want me to organise a settlers outing...again...everytime me hor...hehhee...and of cuz...needless to say....my uni stuffs...still need to settle some of it before leaving for aust....

Guess...God is telling me something...He will always have a purpose in my life...even when so many things I have to do, I'm very sure God is telling me something...I have to pray about it and ask God about it.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; and they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."
- Isaiah 40:31

Amen!

They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting God.

2006-06-24T01:48:00.000+08:00

"They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting God." These words were told by my sister and were drilled into me. So to encourage my fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ who are busy reaching out and constantly rejected by friends, let's put these few words into us. "They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting God."

Sometimes or rather most of the times, we feel that we are being rejected by our friends when they decline our invitation to come to church. Well, it's a lie from the devil because Matthew 5:11 says, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." But God continues in verse 12 saying, "Rejoice and be gald, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." So fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ, always rejoice even when your friends reject your invitation to come to chruch for they are rejecting God, not you, and God will honour what you are doing because you are obeying His command and that is to bring people to Christ. For Deuteronomy 28:12 says, "The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on y our land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none." And when we obey our Almighty God's commands, our treasures are already being stored up in heaven for us.

Amen! :)

Emmanuel, He is

2006-06-23T01:17:00.000+08:00

Well, it will be like a few more weeks before I start my life as a student again in Australia. Yet I don't feel the urge to read up on my uni texts and my parents are pressurising me to do well in uni. Well, yes...I should do well over there but I just feel that I do not have the urgency to study now.

Indeed I need to pray about it and God will discipline me to study. And I believe that God will be with me everywhere I go cuz He's Emmanuel! And I believe that God will constantly speak to me when I'm in Australia.

Back from cell retreat at Muar

2006-06-19T23:24:00.000+08:00

Came back from cell retreat at Muar. Reached there on friday with Boon Bing and Clarence. Alvin (my spiritual dad), Aaron, Zhengrong and Hubert (who is supposed to follow them) reached there at night. Well, waiting for them, we spent the time writing and composing a praise song for God. Yeah!! God's driven song!!

Even though this year cell retreat at Muar is shorter than last year retreat at Muar (again??), I felt that the presence of God is equally strong. Well, we read and meditated on John chapter 13-17 and 1 John chapter 1-5. The 2nd day, we fasted lunch and prayed for the miracle catch this coming sun. And the afternoon prayer was super good. I remembered Alvin say that he is here to serve us (my cell) and I was really touched by it. Just like in John 13, Jesus washed His disciples' feet, Alvin (our spiritual dad) washed our feet and blessed us and truely, I really see Jesus and God in him.

Well, God spoke to me during this Muar trip. In 1 John 4:7-8, God talk about loving others. Guess last time, I did not love others as much as I should and now God told me to love others for God is love. Amen!

We ended our retreat with dinner at a chinese place and we ate crabs!!! Super nice meal and super cheap. We had bah kut teh the next morning before rushing back to Singapore for service at Expo. And thanks God we made it on time for service even though we took a bus back to Singapore. :)

X-men rulz!!!

2006-06-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Went to watch X-men 3 with Sky, Kenny, Clarence, Flavian, Isabel, Sylvia and Pam yesterday. Super nice show, though we miss about 5mins of the intro, and was quite a funny show (the Juggernaut scene...hehehe).

Celebrated my belated birthday before the movie at the food court at Suntec. Haha..cute birthday cake hehehe...caught me by surprise man cuz I accidentally dropped Sky's laptop and was picking it up when they put the cake on the table and sang the birthday song...so nice of them eh...

Well, thx God for them hahaa and that I have such a wonderful family like them...hope we will grow together spiritually and each of us will be a disciplemaker of the Lord in the coming of years...Amen?

P.S. Clarence bought me one set of guitar strings!!! Haha...and the rest bought me a book...Igot to bring it to Australia to read it!!! :)

Physically Tired, Spiritually Excited

2006-06-11T15:14:00.000+08:00

Just came back from Livingstone Camp at Sentosa Scripture Union with a physically-tired person but a spiritually-excited Christian. It was my first network camp (can you believe it???) and I really enjoyed the camp especially the 2nd day games along Palawan Beach (Great job for the games people!!!).

Well, God's presence was really strong throughout the camp and He really spoke to all of us in a very personal way. For me, God was so close to me that during the 2nd day morning solitude at the beach, God spoke to me and I heard "I love you forever". I thought this could not be as I never hear a voice speaking to me like this, so I listened to the people around me who were worshipping God. No, they are not the one who said those words. And by faith, I recieved those words, "I love you forever".

This camp is also preparing me for my stay in Australia, beginning in July. During the 2nd day guys session, Alvin preached about delighting in God and he gave us 3 points. 1st: surrender your sins to God, 2nd: surrender your pleasure to God and 3rd: surrender your desires to God. God spoke to me on the 2nd point and He convicted me that everytime I want to do my quiet time, I will be tempted to play computer games or my PS2 games. I shared this with Josh (my group leader) and he told me that God is preparing me for Australia cuz when I'm in Australia, I will be alone and thus not have the discipline to do my quiet time. Therefore, I have to develop the attitude to do my quiet time more often when I'm still in Singapore.

God confirmed me that He is indeed preparing me for Australia when Pastor suddenly told us that we have to reach out to the Public in Sentosa during the last day of the camp. Well, this is my first time reaching out to strangers and at first there's no courage in me to go and talk to strangers along Palawan Beach and Siloso Beach until me and one of my group member (Winnie) spotted this girl sittting under a hut alone. We decided to go up to her and coincidentedly, she was my sis' student!!! Hehe...so we have a good chat over there and invited her for youthnet service on Sunday 1.30pm. So thanks God that He finally gave me the courage to talk to her and for Winnie cuz she is more sociable than me hahaha....

Oh and after the whole camp ended, my cell celebrated my birthday with a cup cake and a satay stick as candle!!! Hahahaha...so cute of them. Well, wanna thx God for them and Alvin who is a wonderful spiritual dad to me! Thx God! :)

Oh and las thing, before the camp on last wed, I play bass for the church leaders' meeting at TCT. Well, thx God for that cuz God is indeed preparing me for bigger things. From playing guitar in cell to playing bass for Livingstone network meeting and then on the platform for leaders' meeting. And has to thx pastor for calling me to play bass on stage with the rest of the band members, Ezra, Arun and Pam (remember your birthday wish eh? hehe...). :)

Back from London!!!

2006-06-04T00:57:00.000+08:00

After spending 2 weeks in London and Paris (3 days 2 nights), I just touched down Singapore at about 6pm. Rushed off to Vivien's birthday (do you feel honoured that I attended your b'day party immediately after I touched down sg? hehehe..joking...). Well, below are the things I did in London and Paris, except day one which I already blogged it...

Day 2
-reached Paris via train from London at about 3pm
-took a cab which cost about 60euro which is about S$120 (super expensive man!!!) to hotel
- visit Eiffel tower
.pay 11euro to go up (quite cheap though)

Day 3
-visit "Musee Du Louvre", the museum where the movie "Da Vinci Code" is filmed
.saw "Mona Lisa" painting - the painting is quite small!!!
-visit "Arc De triomphe", a monument to Napoleon's victories from wars
-visit "Sacre Coeur", a Catholic church which faces the city of Paris
-went to try some French foods - quite nice but its too ex...

Day 4
-visit "Cathedral of Notre Dame"
- went to see the outside of "Moulin Rouge"
-took a train back to London
.think I saw Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean at the train station - I may be wrong though
.reached London at 10.38pm

Day 5
-visit "The Natural History Museum", where the main attraction was the dinosaurs skeletons and meteorites

Day 6
-took a train to Winsor, a small town outside London
.visit "Winsor Castle"

Day 7
-visit "Chinatown London" - wonder why I visit it? I also got no idea....hahaha

Day 8
-visit "The British Museum" where the main attraction was the mummies from Egypt

Day 9 (the most important day for the entire stay in London)
-visit "Old Trafford" at Trafford, the outskirt of Manchester
.din manage to go for the stadium tour due to the match between England and Hungary
.visit its museum

Day 10
-attended my bro's postgraduate awards ceremony at Royal Albert Hall

Day 11
-visit "The Science Museum" (have you wonder why I keep visiting London's museums??? Hehehe...cuz its too ex to spend money over there and Museums are free of charge!!! hehehe)

Day 12
-Home Sweet Home!!!

Notice
Photos will be up on my blog by next week

Touched down in London

2006-05-22T23:17:00.000+08:00

Andrew reporting from London. Time now is 4.15pm and outside temperature is around 11 degree celsius.

Just touched down in London at 5am (London time) and it is already daylight at 5am!!! Took a train from the airport to Bayswater station and met my brother over there. He took us to his apartment and...it is suuuuuuuuuupppppppppeeerrrrrrrrrrrr small... but very cosy. The weather is not that good after all. Keeps raining and stopping and raining (repeat 10 times).

Well, been wondering how I can blog it? Well, I'm using my bro's comp in his school hahaha.

Anyway, gtg...will blog again if i can hahha.

Old Trafford!!! Here I come!!! :)

At settler's cafe yesterday

2006-05-18T15:26:00.000+08:00

Went to settler's cafe yesterday with sylvia, kenny, sky, hew yenn, pamelia, xiaowen and me. What a day over there. Lost quite a number of games. Nearly won the 1st round of "Bang" but all thx to xiaowen, I lost to her. sian man...hehehe...but I will be back next time...heez...

Well, we should be there longer cuz then it will be more fun, then we can play many more new and untried games. Well, since yesterday we din manage to play "Management Material", I'm still the champion of that game!!! hehehehe... Oh, we ended our day at the cafe with "Taboo". Hmm...maybe its murphy's law that the guys always think that the gals got the easier words to describe. Well, we guys manage to catch up with the gals on "Taboo" but in the end, lost to them by 2 points. Congrats to the gals!!! :)

Went home after that and prepared myself for the Champions league final showdown between Barcelona and Arsenal. I support Barcelona!!! Well, tot Barca is going to lose the title all thx to a controversial freekick (Eboe dived to win the freekick) that Sol Campbell scores from a header.
Well, kind of pity Arsenal too cuz of the sending off of goal-keeper, Jens Lehmann, though he deserved to be sent off for bringing down Eto'o on a one-on-one situation. If Arsenal wins on the controversial free-kick then where's the justice that a game of soccer should have? Well, thx to quick goals from Eto'o and Belletti that Barca won the match. 2-1 to Barca. Period. :)

My 1st cooking lesson

2006-05-17T14:29:00.000+08:00

Well, yesterday had my 1st cooking lesson with Sylvia, Winnie and Kenny. Cooked chicken-carrot-potato porridge (is there such porridge in the 1st place? hehehe...) and a side-dish called onion egg (opps...hope we din fart..heez...).

It was quite interesting to see Kenny cut the carrot and especially trying his very best to....crack an egg!!! hehehe....Hmmm...good effort from him even though I found a small egg shell in the cooked onion egg!!! hehhee...Well, I can say Sylvia and Winnie are really good cook eh....I shall give a 7 out of 10 for both the porridge and the egg. Is it good enough???

Hmmm...I learnt something from them. On how to marinate the chicken...hehehe...ok...next up...2nd lesson... :)

2006-05-15T22:41:00.000+08:00

Today is such a boring day for me man. Stay at home the whole da, trying to discipline myself to sit down and study. Why study when my school is only starting in July? Cuz I will be taking up programming as part of the course in Uni and I never learn programming before!!

Going through chapter 1 of the porgramming book is ok but when I started reading chapter 2, I got a headache man...Dun even noe what is it talking about (even though I try to follow the examples written in the book). Well, I dunno why God gives me this course in Uni (It's called Computer and Mathematical Sciences). Whatever the case is, I'm sure God will provide me a way out and gives me wisdom to do well in Uni becuz He tells me to go Australia!!! And He's not going to let me suffer there in the first place since He tells me to go there. So I shall have faith in Him! Amen!! :)

Today's service at Expo

2006-05-14T23:17:00.000+08:00

"Do not hide in the darkness. Do not keep running away from the cross and to the cross again." These were some of the words released to me by 1 of the consolidators during today's service's altar call. Today's message by Pastor Melyvn Mak is very straight forward. It's called "Living a life of faith". Today's invitation for us, christian, is simply what we want from God. Well, I went forward because I felt that the Holy Spirit is stirring my heart and that I should go forward. When the consolidator is praying for me, the image of Jesus hanging on the cross just came into my mind. Then I was running away from the cross and to the cross again, repeatedly. Well, I have to stop that and remain at the foot of the cross forever. Then I picture myself hiding behind the foot of the cross, being protected by the power of the cross from the Evil One.

Just wanna thank God that He does not give up on me. Like what the bible said, "When I take one step towards God, He will take a hundred steps towards me." Indeed, our God is a faithful God. He will cling on to us no matter what happens to us and He will bring us out from the problems we have victoriously. He has forgiven me and the blood of Jesus has washed me clean! Amen!

FIRING UP FOR GOD

2006-05-13T21:23:00.000+08:00

"BEING PUNCTUAL TO SERVE GOD IS LIKE HONOURING GOD. LET'S BE PUNTUAL AND SERVE GOD TOGETHER!" WELL, THIS IS WHAT I SAW AT THE BACK DOOR OF HALL 9 WHEN I NEED TO ENTER TO THE BACK-STAGE AT HALL 10 CUZ I'M SERVING AS LOGISTIC FOR YOUTHNET SERVICE ON SUNDAY AT EXPO. WELL, I GUESS "PUNCTUALITY" IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITHIN US. MANY OF US (INCLUDING ME)ARE GUILTY OF LATE FOR CELL GROUP, NETWORK MEETING OR EVEN COMING FOR SERVICE EVERY SUN. SOME OF US (INCLUDING ME) ALWAYS LIKE TO GIVE EXCUSES AS TO WHY WE ARE LATE. WE MAY GIVE REASONS LIKE "OH, I'VE WAITED QUITE SOME TIME FOR THE CAB TO COME". WELL, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE POINT THAT WHY WE MUST TAKE CAB TO SERVICE? THIS IMPLIES THAT WE ARE NOT PLANNING OUT TIMES WISELY. IF WE DO, WE WILL NOT HAVE TO A CAB DOWN TO EXPO FOR SERVICE BECAUSE WE WILL LEAVE OUR HOUSE EARLIER AND JUST TAKE A BUS OR MRT DOWN AND REACH EXPO ON TIME.

I STILL REMEMBER WHAT ONE OF THE PASTORS SAY WHEN WE HAVE NOT MOVED TO EXPO YET. DURING ONE OF THE YOUTH SERVICE AT TC ON SATURDAY, ME AND SOME OF MY CELL MEMBERS ARE SERVING AS CONSOLIDATORS AND WE WERE LATE FOR THE BRIEFING. THEN THE PASTOR SAID THIS, "BE PUNCTUAL IS ALSO A FORM OF SERVING GOD. YET MOST OF US ARE NOT PUNCTUAL FOR THE BRIEFING. DO YOU EXPECT TO LET GOD WAIT FOR YOU TO COME AND SERVE HIM?" WELL, IT'S TRUE. JUST LIKE WHEN U ARE GOING TO MEET THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. DO YOU EXPECT HIM TO WAIT FOR YOU IN HIS OFFICE? IT'S US WHO WAIT UPON GOD AND SERVE HIM AND NOT GOD WAIT FOR US.

WELL, LET'S PRAY TOGETHER THAT WE CAN SERVE GOD TOGETHER JOYFULLY AND ON TIME. :)

Settler's Cafe RoX!!!

2006-05-12T23:45:00.000+08:00

YES!!! I'm offically the most slacking person in LS. Becuz...I won the "Management Material" game!!! It's a game whereby a player will recieve a "project" from a "boss" and he or she can chose to take up the project or not. The objective of the game is not to take up "projects" but to reject them. The winner is one which takes up the least number of "project points" (every project comes with a project point).

Well, we (Sky, Sylvia, Hew yenn, Joyce, Amanda, Kenny, Lijuan, Christian, Samantha and me) went to Settler's cafe along Katong road (though Samantha left quite early and Christian joined us quite late). We played games like "I'm the boss", "Snonta", "Management material" and "Taboo". It was such nice outing with them and fun! We spent like 5 hrs there. Then we went to eat at some coffee shop (the chicken cop was superb!!!) beside Settler's cafe and chill out till quite late over there.

We chit-chatted over there and oh...Sky said something which catches my attention. He said, "How we grow up spiritually is when we had gone through hard times." It is indeed true. But even when we go through hard times, trials and tribulations, we must have faith to believe that God will pull us through. One verse in the bible (I forgot its from where liao...guess I have to do more bible studies) that says "faith without deeds is dead" (correct me if I'm wrong :) ). So even if we have faith that God will bring us through, we, on our own part, do not help ourself then it's useless. For example, just like in a relationship, if we broke off with our bf or gf and we still think of them, at the same times having faith that God will help us forget them, it's still useless. God will only help us when we try not to think of them and REALLY commit our problems WHOLEHEARTEDLY to Him. :)

A new experience for me

2006-05-11T00:49:00.000+08:00

Today, went to search for my uni book. Managed to get 1 our of 2 books. At first, went to Bras Basah centre to search for it but to no avail. Then rush down to Funan (all thx to 1 kind stuffs at one of the bookshops at Bras Basah who told me to try Funan). Well, better than nothing. Manage to get 1 java programming book and thx God I managed to get it cuz it's the last one on display! hehehe...

Well, then wanted to go home after that. Just before reaching home (to be exact, about 5 mins to reach my house door), Sylvia called and asked me to go Partyworld at Outram. Well, ok...never go singing with them before, so met up with Sylvia, Kenny, Jedrick (gosh...so long never see him), Winnie and Pamelia and off we went to Partyworld. Kind of bored for me cuz I cant sing! hehehe..well, at least they try to make me sing (thx guys for your effort! :) )...oh yes! all of them are verrrryyyyyy goooooddddddd singers man! Though I'm quite bored but really enjoyed their singing man, except for the guy outside at e lobby who kept singing Jay Chou's song...hehehe...

Well, that's sum up my day! :)

Today is the moment for Kenny...

2006-05-08T22:56:00.000+08:00

Today...the 8th of May 2006...time between 2.30pm to 8pm...IS THE MOMENT FOR KENNY!!! :D Well, Kenny, you have to thx us (Sky, Sylvia, Xiaowen and me) cuz we change you into a guy will charm gals wherever you go (the 1st pic from the top is "old" Kenny and the 2nd pic is "new" Kenny). It's true...you have to believe us. We sacrifice our times for you today. Went to Heeren with you to shop for clothes and to change your "uncle" image into a guy full of charm (pls look at the pics above...). Even though the total cost of 2 shirts, 1 Levis jean and 1 jacket exceeded your budget but I guess it's worth it (rite, guys...).

After that, we went for dinner at Far East and to PS to buy my bass strings (Thx God! Cuz I fixed my bass...yes!!!). Well, too bad Zhenchang din manage to catch our "new-found"
Kenny at PS cuz he went movie with his friends. Well, Kenny...you will sure charm alot of gals with your new look...its true. :)

P.S. hmmm...maybe Sylvia, Xiaowen, Sky and me can host a show call "Extreme Makeover:
Singapore version. :D

Pam's bday at Magicbox

2006-05-07T22:06:00.000+08:00

I'm supposed to blog this yesterday but I reached home quite late and was very tired so until now then I blog on it. Well, the hightlight of yesterday was some of us (Sylvia, Joyce, Lijuan, Winnie, Amanda, Flavian, Jenny, Hew Yenn, Sky, Kenny, pastor and me) went to Magicbox to celebrate Pam's birthday. Hmmm...I wonder whether it's a surprise for her. Anyway, we bought her a white dress from Zara and a Tiramisu birthday cake. Quite unique to celebrate birthday at Magicbox eh and pastor was playing dvds on e projector screen. Oh...I (or rather all of us) didn't manage to hear Pam sing...She was supposed to sing for us yesterday...and to Kenny's delight and excitement, pastor played Josh Groban's dvd and I can say Josh Groban is a really talented musician. We chilled out at Magicbox till 10pm and then we went to the nearby Mac for supper (well, at least it's a supper for me). :)

My bass is dying soon!

2006-05-05T23:42:00.000+08:00

Ya...tt's true..its dying soon. Went to Luthermusic today (saw pam and her dad there...wat a small world eh) to collect my bass. Tot everything is fine when i tried it out over there, using their amp. When i tried it at home, it's the same old problem again. The strings are vibrating so much that they touches the metal strips on the fretboard. Well, one of the Luthermusic staffs told me that the strings are so-called too powerful for my bass to handle. He suggested getting a thinner set of bass strings. Well, i'm still an amateur bassist and i have no idea wat he's talking about. think tomolo i have to see whether there's such thing as a thinner bass string anot when i go plaza singapura to search for it. Oh God, really pray that He will revive my bass again.

To IDP again

2006-05-04T23:29:00.000+08:00

Today went to IDP to settle my Australia education again. I cant remember how many times I've been there. To all those who don't know what's IDP...it's an Australian agency that helps Singapore students to study in Australia. I went there today to hand up the acceptance form for my hostel in UWA (University of Western Australia) and they will send it over to UWA for me. Wah...this really reminded me that thx God that I got a place over there. When I thought that I kana rejected a place in NTU and NUS, I tot my study life will stop at A level. Well, its really of God's grace and mercy that He gives me a place in UWA. Well, I gonna study real hard for God over there man and oh... at the same time, serve Him there too! :)

2006-05-04T01:09:00.000+08:00

Wah thanks God man! Think God reminded me this morning that beside Sweelee music and Davis, there's Luthermusic. Maybe God wanted me to go to Luthermusic to svc my bass. True enough, I went there this afternoon and realised that the staffs were warm and nice. After some testing out on my bass, they decided to keep it till friday for svc-ing.

Oh then, at night, I met up with Sylvia, Kenny and Sky to watch the premiere on Mission Impossible 3. Super nice show but I think the ending can be nicer abit. Dun wanna tell u about the movie...scare it will spoilt those who have not catch the show. And it's been some times that I watch a movie in a packed cinema...hmmm..cuz its free after all!!! hehehe...Oh the only thing I can tell you about the show is that the characters used cool ideas and methods and cool gadgets to achieve their missions. :)

Seizing every opportunity to serve God

2006-05-02T22:27:00.000+08:00

Seizing every opportunity to serve God. That's the mentality I have right now. That's why when Flavian asked me to teach guitar, I agreed. It's also good to serve God whenever opportunities arise because 1.) God will be please that we are always ready to serve Him 2.) it is to keep us busy so that the Devil (or S.A. TAN) will not attack us spiritually. Thus, I shall encourage all my spiritual family members to continue serving God and to seize every chance to make Him happy. :)

Oh, btw, my bass guitar is spoilt!!!!!!!!!!! :( call Sweelee music today and they say they only service their houshold brand guitars. So sian...luckily i call luthemusic and they told me to bring my bass down to let them see first. Haiz...dunno whether to change my bass guitar anot lor (dunno whether my mum will allow or not)...been giving me problems. Firstly, its e fretboard...and now its e pickups spoilt. But nevermind, gonna pray and God will make a way when there's no way! Amen! :)

Replacing night cycling with Settler's cafe

2006-04-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

"Well done! Keep up the good work!" That's what the Lord is telling me during altar call in church service today. Been struggling with the same sin over and over again yet I told myself that I will live another day to fight it but to no avail until I went church today, prepared to let God dealed with my life. The sermon by Ps Melvyn Mak was about being a mighty warrior and how God can transform me into one. Well, he ended off with this story about a pianist who was preparing for his performance in a theatre and all the audience were just waiting for him to come on stage. Suddenly, a little boy was too active and he wondered off his mum and climbed up onto the stage and onto the piano and started playing a tune which was quite bad. The audience were annoyed by the scene and made alot of noise and the pianist overheard the commotion and went to see the boy who was still playing the piano. The pianist reached out his hand and started to join the boy in playing the piano, in turn changing the cranky tune to a nice melody, and the pianist kept telling the boy to continue what he's doing because he's doing fine. Well, no matter how many times I sin against God, I will still be the apple of His eyes. That's what God told me too during the altar call.

Oh ya, to a lighter issue. After service, alvin, weiling, gavin, zhengrong, boon bing, stephanie (if I remember her name correctly) and me decided to went to Settler's Cafe because tomorrow is Labour's Day. First time there man. Really enjoyed myself. We played 3 games (all of them, I never heard before). Oh btw, we met James and his guys there! The most fun game is the one called "I'm the boss" whereby we have to negotiate deals with the players. Wah really can see James' and alvin's negotiation skills man. hahhaa..overall its a nice play to chill out. Will definitely go back there again.

What a week for me! :)

2006-04-30T00:40:00.000+08:00

What a long and tiring week for me. I went for route recce for livingstone network night cycling (suppose to be tonight but postpone) with pamelia, sylvia and kenny. Hmm..though its only the 4 of us (and we are just amateur riders on the road!), we had so much fun with me and kenny, taking turns to lead the way. At first, it was a smooth ride from east coast park, passed national stadium and towards CBD area. All along we had a very smooth journey until I lost track of route we were supposed to go and ended up at Telok Blangah Rd. And then, pam's tyre burst (hmm...could it be her weight?) and we went to a petrol kiosk to pump e tyre with guess what...AIR PUMP FOR CAR!!! hahaha. we were shocked to see e tyre going out of shape, even bigger than e tyre rim when we pumped the air into the tyre. All thanks to a good Samaritian who offered to send us to a bike shop and changed the bike's tyre. That's not all. We then continued our journey to Cantonment rd just to get a permit for the night cycling. Well, what bad day it was when the police refused to grant us the permit because it was too late and they don't have the time to process the permit. And when kenny and I came out from the police building, we realised tt pam has to postpone her job briefing as there's no way for her to go to Changi Airport from Cantonment rd within 30mins. Well overall, all thx to pam (and her bike basket that keeps dropping), sylvia and kenny that even though this route recce is kind of a failure, but we enjoyed ourselves! :)

Oh yes, tt's not all..... I just came back from network meeting at TC Chapel. Went out in the morning to rehearse with the whole band for the meeting lor. Its kind of a last mins thing cuz i recieved the songs and scores 2 days ago and seriously I wasn't well prepared for this network meeting but thx God tt He reminds me again tt I should forget abt the technical stuff during the worship and just to concentrate on Him. Well He's presence is like so strong during the worship that I just wanna continue playing "Heart of Worship" cuz ppl are really being ministered by God. Oh yes! One thing i wanna thx God is during the worship, me bass amp suddenly no power so i stopped and rectified the prob. Well, I was kind of tone deaf..so during tt moment i tot i wont be able to connect with the other instruments again. Then God told me to listen to the keyboard and i realised tt Zhengrong (the keyboardist) was actually playing the chorus. So i just came in and successfully flow with the song again. Yay!!!! Thx God man!!! Well, what I can say is that I'm only a steward use by God only. Just wanna thx God for giving me a talent for playing bass. :)

Ok...tt's sum up my week...Oh wait!! there's service at Expo tomolo. Gonna serve God as logistic yup... :)

Playing for Livingstone good saturday event on 15/04/06

2006-04-25T23:09:00.000+08:00

Its my first time playing in a band with Jeremy Ho and Arun. Kind of excited yet nervous cuz I got to do a bass solo for the song "The Wondrous Cross". Actually I didn't imagine I will have to do it yet Ezra told me to try the solo during our rehearsal on friday. Well I was super scared on saturday for fear of playing e solo wrongly but I remember my sis told me to play during the worship for Jesus as my only audience. Well thanks God that I managed to play the whole song without any mistakes. As for the other songs, I made quite a lot of mistakes as I was too engrossed in worshipping God and at the same time did not concentrate on playing my bass but thanks God again that the mistakes were not obvious. Well as what Ezra said before that during the rehearsal, we tackle all our technical stuffs but during the actual worship session, we should forget about the technical stuffs and just depend on God and worship Him. :)

2nd outing with the kids at Extreme Kids - The Return of the Hero

2006-04-22T22:44:00.000+08:00

What a tiring day...to take care of the kids at Extreme Kids! hehehe...Especially Ricky and Zheng Ji. They are soooooooooooo active during the event that they just cant stop moving around and running about and playing hide-and-seek with me, Sky and Flavian at TCT. Hmmm...no matter how tiring I am taking care of them, I still believe that God places me at Young Arrows for a reason, though He didn't reveal to me. So no matter how tiring I am, I will continue to serve at Young Arrows for God. And oh yes...It's Boon Bing who asked me to come and serve in Young Arrows last time and I still remember that I told him that I'm not good at handling with kids which I really do but he said just come. Well, thanks to God that He changes me in Young Arrows to be more sociable to the kids and to play and joke around with them, even though I'm still not very open to them yet but trying to be. Hehe...Hmmm...I still remember just now during Extreme Kids, a lady whom I only knew as Aunty May Choo (OK, I'm not really familiar with the people who organise the Extreme Kids program) went out the stage to give a talk and one thing she said to us which caught my attention. She said that everyone of us as a hero in us (Today's Extreme Kids theme is call the return of the heros). Well what I can say is there's a very big hero living in us and He is God, who is the creator of the Earth and us.

Today - the preview of my future Australia stay

2006-04-21T23:28:00.000+08:00

Today is the day that shows what kind of life I'm gonna have in Australia next time. Why? Its because I'm cooking today!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha...Not that I don't know how to cook but I'm doing it without an assistant beside me!! Well, I have to cook my meals next time when I'm studying in Australia next time so must well start learning how to cook today. Hehehe...I thought I'm gonna eat the most nasty and disgusting foods ever and even though the presentation of the foods may be very ugly, it turns out quite well after all (mum and dad even said its not bad. Wahahahha...Consider its my first time cooking). Hmmm...I shall cook more in the future so that I will not suffer under the torture of my own foods in Australia next time (if you get what I mean...Hahaha).

Rain Down!!!

2006-04-20T15:34:00.000+08:00

What a month! Its been raining cats and dogs for most of the days. And what a cooling night to tuck into bed and have a very comfortable night of rest. Well, maybe I'm not use to sheltering myself with an umbrella when its raining so heavily today because... today....I got soaked in rain!!! Even with an umbrella over my head!!! Oh well only my legs are wet. Guess its the strong wind blowing that caused the rain to fall on me at an acute angle. As I reached home, I suddenly thought of what my spiritual father, Alvin, told me when we came back to Singapore from Muar last year and was raining heavily then. He said that raining is a blessing from God and I believe so...that's why there's a song from Delirious? that's call "Rain Down". :)

Hoorayyyy to Barcelona!!!!

2006-04-19T14:50:00.000+08:00

Congrats to Barcelona for winning against Milan this morning. Not only do they beat Milan, they got the crucial away goal which, who knows, may send them to Paris for the Champions league final. It was a really pulsating match. Barca got quite a few scares in the first half from the Milan. But all thanks to Victor Valdes and the no-nonsense Puyol that Barca can survive the match with a clean sheet. Oh did I mention that Gilardino rocked the Barca's goal-post with a shot?
Well on the other hands, Barca really deserved the win because of their fast movements on the pitch and slick passes they made. And Ronaldinho equals Gilardino with a shot that hit Milan post in the second half. Well then again, Ronaldinho really deserved the reputation of the world footballer of the year when he shrugged off Gattuso and opened Milan's defence with a through pass into the penalty box and the fast Giuly scores with a first time shot. What a goal that is!!! One foot into the final for Barca. The other foot waiting to get in. Watch out for Barca in Nou Camp, Milan!!! Oh did I hear the commentator saying that Jaap Stam does not have hair to flick the ball away?

My first encounter with aliens!!!!

2006-04-19T01:19:00.000+08:00

Ok guys, this may seem strange but its true that I just had an encounter with aliens. Aliens that are in the form of chinese characters! How can it be when I have been studying chinese for the past 20 years that I am struggling to read those chinese characters on the way to set up this blog. Well, all thanks to Sylvia that I finally make it through the test and woohooo...here's my blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!