Faith

Saturday, December 31, 2011

*.* Bye Bye 2011~ *.*

In approximately 1.5 hours later, the year 2011 will come to an end and that will spark the start of the new year 2012.

The year 2011 has been a year with many ups and downs. I would also describe it as a very eventful year. The first event that sparks the beginning of 2011 was Ching Kit & Alexis' wedding which was so awesomely fun because it totally felt like prom night!

There were many other people's weddings as well. It seems that this is the period whereby a lot of people are getting married.

The year 2011 is also a year with many changes.

- I graduated from Polytechnic with a Diploma in Hotel & Hospitality Management

- I entered SIM Global (RMIT University) taking a Bachelor of Business Management and even attained one year of exemption

- I became a DGL of GIGGLES

- I grew to appreciate the friends that I have to a whole new level

- I began to pray more often and be serious in prayers

- I can see that God has worked in my life for the past year

The list goes on...

My life hasn't been perfect or easy for the past one year. However, I would say that my life has been blessed.

I thank God for my family~

Papa

Mummy

Hobart (Big bro)

Darius (2nd Bro)

And my other relatives~

I also want to thank God for GIGGLEs, though it wasn't easy leading this bunch of kids...

And most importantly, I want to thank God for my favourite girls, RIBS!!! <3 <3 <3

This has been the year whereby I really learn to appreciate friendship and love because of RIBS. I'm really so happy to have these girls with me in my life.

This whole year has been filled with so much fun because of them. Plus, we have snapped sooooooooooooooo many lovely, funny and fabulous photos together! :D

I really love the people in my life that God has given me. More importantly, thank you God for loving me so dearly and blessing me with such wonderful people.

My life wouldn't been so awesome without God in my life.

Now, I'm just looking forward to the new year ahead with hopes that it'll be a better year. I do foresee challenges coming my way, but I do not pray for an easy way out but just for strength from God to carry me through. :)

Bye bye 2011 and Hello 2012! HAPPY NEW YEAR~~~ :DDD

I need Jesus @ | 6:09 PM

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

*.* Holiday Mood *.*

It's been a looong time since I've blogged! I'm bored and since I've not blog for quite some time, I feel that it's time to update this blog.

Well, it's the holidays now!!! yea... as usual, it can be pretty boring and slack because I have nothing much to do.

It has been 3 weeks through my holidays and I have another 5-6 more weeks of holidays. Shiok max but at the same time, it can be boring max! LOL

For the past 3 weeks, I have been spending a lot of my time watching dramaaaass!!! XD

Dramas are so addictive! After watching one episode, you will be "craving" to watch the next. And after you've finished the entire drama, you'll want to watch another drama.
ok... At least I told myself to sleep by 12am every night, or else I'll be watching one episode after another through the night and not sleep.

The very first drama that I watched was "Boys Over Flowers"!!! Love it to the max!!!
It's really awesome especially when the show is filled with cute guys. LOL

Boys Over Flowers (Korean Version)

After watching it, I realised that this particular drama has a Taiwanese version and Japanese version! So I decided to watch them both to compare all the 3 versions.

Meteor Garden! (Taiwanese Version)
Acted by the very well-known F4 themselves.

Hana Yori Dango (Japanese Version)
I like this version because it's very animated and funny~
After watching part 1, I proceeded to watch part 2.
And they had part 3 also!

After watching all the 3 versions, I cannot conclude which is the best.

Boys Over Flowers: The guys in this version are the most handsome! Whenever I watch this drama, I'll be mesmerised by it. Plus, it's the most emotional drama among the three versions.

Meteor Garden: It's very original and it's cute! Moreover, it's acted by the original F4!

Hana Yori Dango: It's the funniest, cutest and I love the main 2 characters in this version the best! Plus, it shows the entire story from start to finish, though they cut off some parts from the manga.

All in all, I love them all! :D

Now, I'm currently watching 'Secret Garden'. It seems like a pretty nice show.
wahhh... I'm really addicted to dramas! But I cannot find anything else to do. Moreover, I have so many dramas that I want to watch, so I'm trying to finish each drama in order to move on to the next. :P

A lot of people's birthdays are coming up. Recently, I attended Nelson's 21st birthday celebration at Aranda Country Club. Next, will be Sharon's. Then in January 2012, it'll be Karen's, Grace's and Alvin's 21st! wah... So many to attend! I need some money to get pressies for next year already! Talking of which, 2012 is just a month plus away! Time flies man!

I did think about finding a part-time job. But me being me, I'm a little lazy. I'll still try to find a job if possible. I hope that I can find a suitable and flexible job. I want to earn some money for myself so that my parents would not have to worry so much about finance.

I'm turning 20 soon in one week's time. It's almost time for me to say goodbye to teens. :'(

Youth chalet is just a week away! and and and... I cannot wait for RIBs retreat at the end of this year! woohoo! oh ya! X'mas is coming soon! HOLIDAY MOOD!!! :DDD

I need Jesus @ | 1:35 PM

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

*.* My Heart, My Precious Treasure *.*

I want my heart to grow and become more beautiful over time.
I don't want it to be broken and battered any more.
I want to put my focus on God.

I want a man that is willing to fight hard to win this precious treasure of mine, my heart.

I need Jesus @ | 12:34 AM

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

*.* Precious Gem *.*

"The greatest treasure that a girl has is her heart. It is like a precious gem growing and becoming more beautiful with time. It is also the best and most valuable gift that she can ever give to the one man that is meant to receive it.
Therefore girls, do not allow your heart to be battered and broken. Guard this precious treasure of yours for it is the great gift that God has given you."
(Adapted from 'When God writes your love story' - Leslie Ludy)

The book 'When God writes your love story' has touched my heart deeply. Then I came upon the part that Leslie Ludy wrote about the 'precious pearl'.
Hence I reflected on it, and put up the above status onto my facebook wall. I hope that it can serve as a reminder to all the girls that each one of us have that precious treasure that God has given to us~ ;)

I need Jesus @ | 9:13 PM

Friday, October 07, 2011

*.* A New Perspective of LOVE *.*

Yes! I'm going to talk about 'love' again!

I know that I've been rather lovey dovey recently, but isn't LOVE awesome? haha~ :D
With many recent happenings, it challenged my perspective of love such as the various situations that my friends had gone through, and even my own situation.

On Wednesday, I was heading off to dance lesson. That day, Grace had work so she headed directly from her workplace to the destination. My dad was unable to send me to dance due to work. Hence, I had to make my way to the destination myself.
It so happens that I forgot to bring my earpiece for my iPod! What to do?! No songs, no entertainment to keep me busy during the bus journey.
Then I thought, why not spend this time to talk to God? And I did so.

During the time of waiting for the bus to arrive to the entire bus journey to the dance studio, I was spending time talking to God.
Some people will be thinking "You crazy ah? Talking to God? How can you even talk to Him when you cannot even hear Him speak?"
Come on, try it, and you'll know it. ;D

Thus, I spent the entire journey talking to Him like a friend. Then I began to talk to Him about love. I shared with Him my every feelings and thoughts. I shared with Him the people I love and how important they are in my life. I shared with Him the turmoil that I had gone through.
He knew all these though.
Then I began to figure things out. As I reflected, I began to understand what love truly means.

I realised that love is sacrificial. If you truly love someone, you'll always, no matter what circumstance, put the person before you. The moment you put yourself before the person, that will not be called 'love'. To me, that will be called 'self-centeredness'. You love yourself more than others.

I realised that if you love someone, you'll care a lot about the well-being of that person. You will care about the person's health, work/studies, relationships with people, and even his/her walk with God.

I realised that love produces joy. With love, there will be joy. With hatred, there will be anger.
I don't get one part then. Everyone wants to be happy isn't it? Then why hate one another and be upset, when you can love one another and be happy? I know that it is not as simple as what I say, but seriously, why hate? Because of the pain the other person has inflicted upon you? Honestly, how long will you hate that person? Forever? Are you sure that you want to be FOREVER upset and never be joyful? I don't think so. Everyone wants to be happy. Therefore there's something called 'FORGIVENESS'. If you are able to forgive the other person, trust me, you'll see joy and gladness.
Forgiving someone is not easy though. That's why you'll need God to help you with this process.

I realised that LOVE is the most important aspect in my life. Love will be about building relationships with the people around me. Love will be about building my relationship with God. Love is God. Therefore God is my everything.

After talking with God, I felt very much refreshed and felt pretty good. I knew that God was listening and was speaking to me. He helped me to reflect on a lot of things. He helped me to understand why He made me go through so many tough times. I had cried, I had lamented, I had angered. God delivered me through those times.
The result? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Therefore, trust God. He will never fail you because LOVE NEVER FAILS. ;)

I need Jesus @ | 1:10 PM

*.* Recent Happenings *.*

My first semester of university has just ended yesterday, and now, it is time for me to prepare for the upcoming exams. Talking about exams, I have not taken them for 3 years already!

I'm going to say this again. Time really flies! I mean it really does! One semester just done like that and a few months later, the year 2011 will be coming to an end!

Anyway, a couple of things had happened recently.

1. It is official that I have gotten an exemption of one year from University! That means that instead of graduating in 2014, I'll be graduating in 2013!
When I first received the news, I was neither elated nor depressed. It was a rather neutral feeling. The good part is that I can save up on a year of school fees which will sum up to about $12k. The bad part is that I have to venture into the working world sooner! =x

2. I've decided to take up Human Resource as my minor instead of my initial choice of Marketing.
It took me some time to come up with the decision because the rest of my kakis chose HR as their choice. Hence I had a little discussion with my mum and came down to the final decision. Something that she said made sense.
HR: People have to be nice to you.
Marketing: You have to be nice to others.
LOL! At once, I decided to choose HR as my choice. :P Well, I do not regret my choice though. As I know myself well, I don't like being alone. If I were to choose Marketing, I can foresee myself not enjoying school life in the future. HR seems like a good choice! :D

3. Dance
Grace & I joined SIM Dreamwerkz Hip Hop Junior Team! Initially we did tell one another that we did not want to join any clubs in SIM due to our commitments. Apparently, Dreamwerkz does not require us much commitment. It like a course that you take in a dance school.
Dance has been pretty fun. Having not danced for quite some time, I find it quite enjoyable. Moreover, we only have lessons once a week for just one hour of lesson. Not only that, we can learn different types of genres, depending on our instructor, Allegra.
For now, we have gone through a total of 3 lessons already. Another 9 lessons to go, and we have a presentation to do on the final lesson.
I'm back on the groove man! :D

4. Being a DGL
A couple of months ago, I was lamenting about how hard it is to be a leader. Now, I still think that it's hard, but honestly, I'm beginning to enjoy this role. I'm amazed at how God works. Some how or rather, though the kids maybe naughty at times, but at the end of the day, they will put a smile on your face lighting up your day.
I still have struggles with my role as a DGL. However something that Ching Kit said during Koinonia made a lot of sense. He said that leaders are not made leaders. They learn to be leaders.
It is a learning process to be a leader. I believe that this will be a fruitful journey that God has prepared for me. ;)

5. Personal Life
There was a period of time, not too long ago, when I was frequently upset and moody. I felt that I was facing a trial and it was a very difficult journey for me. I was wrestling with my own feelings and trying to learn how to trust fully in God. I kept praying and praying everyday asking God to help me and guide me.
In my previous post, I mentioned about taking an emotional break. I believe that it has worked for me. Through that break, I've learned to really focus on God and my own life. I was often affected by others around me.
Now, I don't know why, I feel exceptionally happy every single day. Has God delivered me? Have I overcome my trial? I believe that He has.
Though I expect more trials to come in the future, but I know that as long as I put my faith in God, He will deliver me.

6. Prayers
I believe in prayers.
Nowadays, I write down my prayers in books when I pray during my quiet time. I find it more efficient as I will be able to focus better and be less distracted. On top of that, I can always read through my prayers like reading a diary.
There was one day that I was feeling rather bored not knowing what to do. Then I looked through my cupboard when I found the prayers that I had written many months ago. So I began to read through them. While reading through them, I began to see how much God has worked in my life. Some of the prayers that I had prayed were answered without me realising! It's pretty amazing~
For example, there was a period of time when my dad had a medical condition causing him excruciating pain. I kept praying for God's healing to be upon him as it hurt me to see him in pain.
I forgot about this incident until I read that prayer that day. I knew that God has healed him.
There are times that we neglect God and forget about the wonderful thing that He has done for us.
Let us not forget that God is always with us, and we should always turn to Him at all times.

2 weeks of exam break, 1 week of exams, then 2 months of holidays! Woohoo! Cannot wait for November to come~ Then there will be RIBS retreat, family vacation, etc! Yipee! :D

I need Jesus @ | 12:32 PM

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

*.* Gonna Take a "Break" *.*

I'm going to take a "break"!

Yea... I hope that I can take a wonderful break like this kitty is having. :P
haha! The picture is placed there just for fun, and because I find it cute! :D

The break that I'm talking about is not a physical break. I still can handle my daily life activities such as school life and church activities as for now.

The break that I'm referring to is an emotional break. Having "suffered" for so many months, I've finally decided already. I've grown tired about the constant cycle that I've been for so many years. Enough is enough! I'm going to take a "break" for now until I'm ready.

My hope for this break will be that I can overcome and break out of this cycle. On top of that, I hope that I can strengthen the emotional part of me. I no longer want to be so emotional any more. I don't want to get affected by people that much any more. But of course, I'm not saying that I will no longer show care and concern to the people around me. I will still do so, but I want to build up my heart and make it stronger. My life is my life, he's not my life.
During this break, I also want to learn to put my focus on God. Grow in my walk with Him.

I don't know how will things go in time to come, but whatever it is, I uplift all these things to God. He shall take the lead.

FAITH
*I want to be the precious gem that I am meant to be~*

I need Jesus @ | 7:04 PM

Monday, August 29, 2011

*.* Serving God Is Not Easy *.*

Yesterday during sermon, Pastor Soh was sharing that serving God is not an easy thing to do. The sermon was referred to the text 'Jeremiah 15:15-21', about how Jeremiah suffered for trying to serve God and was complaining to God for all the troubles that he was going through.

Serving God is really tough. I'm already going through it now. The pain and stress of being a discipleship group leader.

It pains you when your kids are unappreciative of one another.
It pains you when your kids disrespect you.
It pains you when your kids do not bond with one another.
It pains you when your kids are not living according to God's ways.
It pains you when your kids do not understand the amount of effort you're putting in for them.
It pains you when your kids misbehave.

The list goes on...

Being a leader is not an easy job. Moreover, being a leader in God's ministry is even harder.
But I know that God gave me the role of a leader for a reason. He knew that I could take up this role and do a good job.
He never guarantee that the path of a leader will be an easy one, but He did promise me that He will walk me through this journey. It is through such trials that I can grow stronger in faith in God.

'From Suffering to Strength' was the sermon title yesterday. I felt that God was speaking to me through it. I maybe suffering now, but I know that if I learn to depend on God, I will gain strength. With that strength, I will be able to fight the good fight and finish the race that He had prepared for me.

Therefore, I wanna encourage other leaders who are also serving in God's ministry. Though being a leader is tough, but press on, because God saw leadership potential in you. He gave you the role of a leader for a reason. Don't give up~ :)

FAITH
*From Suffering to Strength*

I need Jesus @ | 6:48 PM