“The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher.”
-Thomas Huxley
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
A very extremely good morning to all. I have intentions to stay up and study and yes it's a crazy idea, yet I still do it ever since it's introduction in secondary school. I'm desperate for time! (which I have wasted some a while back, and maybe wasting now right here...)
I'm excited about my coming holidays (I know it's still early to talk about it but it's a good motivation for me to study =P), because for the first time, I have NO homework, NO full-time job (only a part-time job, which means I still have sufficient allowance, plus more time to do something useful), MORE time, and my office is few bus stops down church! Gave some thoughts to what I've in mind for this coming holidays and now thinking about it, I should go pray and ask God about it as well. My plans may be good, but He may have better plans that I didn't think of! =)
Grace asked me today, "so what is your purpose?", I didn't expected it and for a moment, I didn't know how to answer... I just told her, I didn't know, it wasn't explicit from God, but then later, I thought I may have forgotten it. This is a call for me to go seek and ask God again. God is not a hide-and-seek god, He is a seek and find God!
Jeremiah 29:13
"13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
This is like one of my favourite scripture (and thus one of my favourite song "I Will Search"). It's not because He isn't speaking that we are not hearing anything from Him, but rather, we are not listening or seeking enough. God should not be just a supplement or a good thing in my life. He is the source of my life, like how I need oxygen to live.
Here's one more very good website for christian resources:
click here
It's sermon notes by Rev Raymond Woodward and they are really good! (note to self: I need to expand my vocab and find more words that describe 'good') I read some today (cause Joyce so kindly printed them for me), and they were really (I just realise how I can describe this feeling with...) like how this scripture puts it:
Hebrews 4:12-13
"12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
Writing or speaking (or even plain talking) has never been THE THING for me, I always brush it aside and accepted my lack of proficiency in expressing myself. However, I think I can do better, this two are still mostly the main ways of communication, why should I take like a roundabout way just to express a single idea when maybe I could articulate it simply yet powerfully in a single sentence? (though that does comes with age and wisdom, but still, I don't have 20 years down the road, so I should just tap on God's wisdom that's there for us if we seek after it right now.)
I'm 19 and just when I'm finally getting used to being 19, in about 2 months plus plus, I am turning 20. NO! Hello bullet train of life! TOO FAST! Trying to comfort myself, here's what Morris from "Tuesdays with Morris" said:
"People are afraid of getting old because they haven't found a meaning in their life."
"It's because this society worships the youth"
"I am not afraid of being old, it's not deteriorationg, it's progress."
"There's a time for me to be 22 and 78 and now it's my time to be 78."
Yet again, all this can amount to nothing if it's just all talk and no action. Talking about action, looking at the time right now, it's time I get into action too! Writing all these here is just to voice my thoughts. I think I can talk on forever if someone can listen forever, which is not possible... I'm still a blue. =)
Time to fly!
I'm excited about my coming holidays (I know it's still early to talk about it but it's a good motivation for me to study =P), because for the first time, I have NO homework, NO full-time job (only a part-time job, which means I still have sufficient allowance, plus more time to do something useful), MORE time, and my office is few bus stops down church! Gave some thoughts to what I've in mind for this coming holidays and now thinking about it, I should go pray and ask God about it as well. My plans may be good, but He may have better plans that I didn't think of! =)
Grace asked me today, "so what is your purpose?", I didn't expected it and for a moment, I didn't know how to answer... I just told her, I didn't know, it wasn't explicit from God, but then later, I thought I may have forgotten it. This is a call for me to go seek and ask God again. God is not a hide-and-seek god, He is a seek and find God!
Jeremiah 29:13
"13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
This is like one of my favourite scripture (and thus one of my favourite song "I Will Search"). It's not because He isn't speaking that we are not hearing anything from Him, but rather, we are not listening or seeking enough. God should not be just a supplement or a good thing in my life. He is the source of my life, like how I need oxygen to live.
Here's one more very good website for christian resources:
click here
It's sermon notes by Rev Raymond Woodward and they are really good! (note to self: I need to expand my vocab and find more words that describe 'good') I read some today (cause Joyce so kindly printed them for me), and they were really (I just realise how I can describe this feeling with...) like how this scripture puts it:
Hebrews 4:12-13
"12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
Writing or speaking (or even plain talking) has never been THE THING for me, I always brush it aside and accepted my lack of proficiency in expressing myself. However, I think I can do better, this two are still mostly the main ways of communication, why should I take like a roundabout way just to express a single idea when maybe I could articulate it simply yet powerfully in a single sentence? (though that does comes with age and wisdom, but still, I don't have 20 years down the road, so I should just tap on God's wisdom that's there for us if we seek after it right now.)
I'm 19 and just when I'm finally getting used to being 19, in about 2 months plus plus, I am turning 20. NO! Hello bullet train of life! TOO FAST! Trying to comfort myself, here's what Morris from "Tuesdays with Morris" said:
"People are afraid of getting old because they haven't found a meaning in their life."
"It's because this society worships the youth"
"I am not afraid of being old, it's not deteriorationg, it's progress."
"There's a time for me to be 22 and 78 and now it's my time to be 78."
Yet again, all this can amount to nothing if it's just all talk and no action. Talking about action, looking at the time right now, it's time I get into action too! Writing all these here is just to voice my thoughts. I think I can talk on forever if someone can listen forever, which is not possible... I'm still a blue. =)
Time to fly!
Friday, October 23, 2009
I am back again before I go hit the books again... Just when I was going to go browse the internet wasting my time, which can probably amount to the next few hours, I came across this:
"Obedience when no one is watching comes before obedience in public. And I’m talking about obedience that’s hard. Obedience that costs you something. That is why you can’t fake hard things, and that is why small hard things always come before big hard things. "
"Obedience when no one is watching comes before obedience in public. And I’m talking about obedience that’s hard. Obedience that costs you something. That is why you can’t fake hard things, and that is why small hard things always come before big hard things. "
Excerpt from "You Can't Fake Hard Things"
One thing is for sure, God is watching even when no human is around... I'm not doing anything that is exactly detrimental or anyway illegal, it's just that I seriously have better things to do.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Final words, before I pack up and get ready to return to the comforts of my own home. It is finally 10pm and I bid farewell to my second house - my office. Remembering in August and September, I was still busy everyday but enjoying it, running around (almost literally travelling the entire Singapore island, as I travel from home - Pasir Ris to office - Bugis then to school - Clementi and back again), and now, though I'm not considered exactly not busy, but it is just home, office, home office, home office and so on... No wonder I dread my everydays! This explains why I've been reading so much things online, because it is really dreadful to start and end my everyday with just studying, though beneficial.
Civilisation seems far away, cause I hardly talk much to anyone since I feel comfortable enough to just stay in my own corner in my office.
Now I know what to do! In a bid to make my studying break life more exciting and still resist the temptations of feeding myself junk, I shall blog more, read more (good stuff, which includes THE BIBLE), pray more, and other miscellaneous stuff that I can think of later.
Reminders to self:
#1 priority of the day is to get connected with God
Praying is not just praying but communicating with God
Hard thing #2 wasn't very much successful but still more successful than usual, so here comes hard thing #3 - I shall go to bed and lie there and read my textbook till I sleep. Yes, I can do this.
(I can seriously feel the resistance and screams of my flesh for more brainless and satisfying activity)
ok! I CAN DO THIS!
God Bless. =)
Civilisation seems far away, cause I hardly talk much to anyone since I feel comfortable enough to just stay in my own corner in my office.
Now I know what to do! In a bid to make my studying break life more exciting and still resist the temptations of feeding myself junk, I shall blog more, read more (good stuff, which includes THE BIBLE), pray more, and other miscellaneous stuff that I can think of later.
Reminders to self:
#1 priority of the day is to get connected with God
Praying is not just praying but communicating with God
Hard thing #2 wasn't very much successful but still more successful than usual, so here comes hard thing #3 - I shall go to bed and lie there and read my textbook till I sleep. Yes, I can do this.
(I can seriously feel the resistance and screams of my flesh for more brainless and satisfying activity)
ok! I CAN DO THIS!
God Bless. =)
This is all soo true. My number 1 time-waster is surf internet, yes and my "hobby" of online movie/drama/cartoon/anime streaming...
And "according to a study released by Forbes Magazine the typical television viewer fritters away three years of his life being bombarded with commercials."
I don't even watch commercials! ok, the years I have wasted is probably beyond 3... Now I'm going back to work, and shall stay sitted, and focus on studying till like late. HARD thing #2! And I shall continue to read materials that actually nourishes my mind than feeding it junk...
And "according to a study released by Forbes Magazine the typical television viewer fritters away three years of his life being bombarded with commercials."
I don't even watch commercials! ok, the years I have wasted is probably beyond 3... Now I'm going back to work, and shall stay sitted, and focus on studying till like late. HARD thing #2! And I shall continue to read materials that actually nourishes my mind than feeding it junk...
Our appetites are very much shaped by what we satisfy them with. If wealways drink a Coke when we’re thirsty, what we will start longing for when we’re thirsty? Coke. If we always eat cheese puffs when we’re hungry, what wewill start longing for when we’re hungry? Cheese puffs. In the same way, if we always surf the Internet when we’re bored, what will we start longing for when we’re bored? Surfing the Internet.
You see, we don’t get nourished, we just satisfy the feelings of boredom. But that just makes our minds more hungry,so we surf the internet a little bit longer next time (maybe a little bit deeper too). We’re constantly ruining our appetite for activities that grow godly character and competence, and then we wonder why they seem “boring” or“uninteresting” to us.
This is a call for action. It’s a crisis and an opportunity. A crisis, because we cannot afford to continue appeasing our mind with junk food. An opportunity, because by guarding what we feed our mind when we are bored, we can shape its appetite to long for what strengthens and nourishes it. The more we do that, the more we will enjoy completing our God-given responsibilities and the more great things we will accomplish.
Excerpt from "Bored? Read this!"
You see, we don’t get nourished, we just satisfy the feelings of boredom. But that just makes our minds more hungry,so we surf the internet a little bit longer next time (maybe a little bit deeper too). We’re constantly ruining our appetite for activities that grow godly character and competence, and then we wonder why they seem “boring” or“uninteresting” to us.
This is a call for action. It’s a crisis and an opportunity. A crisis, because we cannot afford to continue appeasing our mind with junk food. An opportunity, because by guarding what we feed our mind when we are bored, we can shape its appetite to long for what strengthens and nourishes it. The more we do that, the more we will enjoy completing our God-given responsibilities and the more great things we will accomplish.
Excerpt from "Bored? Read this!"
They might seem harmless — the book we’ve already read, the online forum or message board where we “reach out,” the 5-minute video we found online, the new World Magazine comic section, the video game that’s fun and clean, a review of the latest star-studded flick, or that article on Google News about the kitten with two heads.
Harmless? Not at all. The price is the character that might have been and the competence that would have been. If we were to devote all the time we spend reading random news stories online to reading life-changing, soul-feeding books, how might our relationship with Christ flourish?
If we were to devote all the time we spend watching television to developing our talents in the areas of writing, speaking, musical instruments, filmmaking, painting, sewing, gardening, woodworking, web design, landscaping, computer programming, etc. how much more effective might we be in the Kingdom of God?
Excerpt from "Stop Wasting Time"
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I have been reading alot lately, and my reading materials span is extreme varieties. I'm just reading stufff... Reading some stuff is really a waste of time, but I'm feeling like a massive information absorbing machine of some sort, and just reading on and on random stuff, whether they are seriously beneficial or not.
On a good note, I did read useful stuff too, that is thought-provoking and makes me react with my "ahhhh-ing". I can say, the christian articles I have read can be really convicting yet I have allowed them to just brush off. It's just a "argh" moment then I move on doing what I am doing.
2 really GOOD websites for christian articles/forums/etc
The Rebelution
Heard about the rebelution website from Grace and checked it out, and it's really good! And I totally agree with whatever they are writing about on the site, regarding how teenagers nowadays are falling way short of what they can do, and that we have treated "adolescence" as a vacation from responsibilities. The Rebelution is basically about teenagers rebelling against low expectations. In their own words, "rebelling against rebellion", which I think is really cool. Their vision is also to encourage teenagers everywhere "to do hard things", which thinking about it, is really great, yet, HARD! (yes that's the whole point, doing hard things) It's about challenging ourselves and going against society's low expectations for youths.
It's crazy. I think we all have a rooted mentality that you know we'll all gonna be this great person doing great things especially for God when we grow up. And well, I do dream alot, but I'm 19! And I'm considered grown up, considering I have a part-time job, am attending university and have an IC. I'm grown up enough...
Honestly, I do feel indignant somehow, because the people that started this website are the same age as me! Reading what they are doing and what I am doing... It's like ?!?!?! I'm not saying that I want to go preach to crowds of thousands or hold conferences like them, that is totally beyond me, but yes, I can do more than what I am doing right now. I shall be "provoked to good works" and be provoked more.
Guilty of being a sloth, seriously addicted to media, and a lack of self-discipline, my number one HARD thing is being a good manager of time. ok, and that is SERIOUSLY HARD... to begin with, the hard thing to do today shall be to go to bed when I reach home. (it's ridiculous why I'm even struggling with this, I knoww...)
If you haven't check out the website, fyi, it's started by the twin brothers of Joshua Harris, the guy who wrote "I Kiss Dating Goodbye". They are 19 and have written the book "Do Hard Things" (if I'm not wrong that's their first book and they have another book coming up), they have held conferences and go on radio stations for interviews or some sort of morning talk show. And that is all so cool!
Ninety and Nine
I chanced upon this website while googling. It's more of a weekly online newsletter, has some really good articles and it's also apostolic! It's really really cool I think to read and see names of people you know coming up. It makes me go, "AH I KNOW THIS PERSON!" They recently had an interview with Bro John Wolfram, one of our preacher for LTD 07, who was also an US Navy SEAL.
They also welcome submissions of articles, so all those who love to write and have a story/testimony to tell, go submit your article!
I'm not a fantastic writer, in fact I tend to ramble more on incoherent thoughts that run through my mind, so this is my small attempt at writing properly. There is more things to write about, but I shall stop for now and return to my textbooks!
God bless.
On a good note, I did read useful stuff too, that is thought-provoking and makes me react with my "ahhhh-ing". I can say, the christian articles I have read can be really convicting yet I have allowed them to just brush off. It's just a "argh" moment then I move on doing what I am doing.
2 really GOOD websites for christian articles/forums/etc
The Rebelution
Heard about the rebelution website from Grace and checked it out, and it's really good! And I totally agree with whatever they are writing about on the site, regarding how teenagers nowadays are falling way short of what they can do, and that we have treated "adolescence" as a vacation from responsibilities. The Rebelution is basically about teenagers rebelling against low expectations. In their own words, "rebelling against rebellion", which I think is really cool. Their vision is also to encourage teenagers everywhere "to do hard things", which thinking about it, is really great, yet, HARD! (yes that's the whole point, doing hard things) It's about challenging ourselves and going against society's low expectations for youths.
It's crazy. I think we all have a rooted mentality that you know we'll all gonna be this great person doing great things especially for God when we grow up. And well, I do dream alot, but I'm 19! And I'm considered grown up, considering I have a part-time job, am attending university and have an IC. I'm grown up enough...
Honestly, I do feel indignant somehow, because the people that started this website are the same age as me! Reading what they are doing and what I am doing... It's like ?!?!?! I'm not saying that I want to go preach to crowds of thousands or hold conferences like them, that is totally beyond me, but yes, I can do more than what I am doing right now. I shall be "provoked to good works" and be provoked more.
Guilty of being a sloth, seriously addicted to media, and a lack of self-discipline, my number one HARD thing is being a good manager of time. ok, and that is SERIOUSLY HARD... to begin with, the hard thing to do today shall be to go to bed when I reach home. (it's ridiculous why I'm even struggling with this, I knoww...)
If you haven't check out the website, fyi, it's started by the twin brothers of Joshua Harris, the guy who wrote "I Kiss Dating Goodbye". They are 19 and have written the book "Do Hard Things" (if I'm not wrong that's their first book and they have another book coming up), they have held conferences and go on radio stations for interviews or some sort of morning talk show. And that is all so cool!
Ninety and Nine
I chanced upon this website while googling. It's more of a weekly online newsletter, has some really good articles and it's also apostolic! It's really really cool I think to read and see names of people you know coming up. It makes me go, "AH I KNOW THIS PERSON!" They recently had an interview with Bro John Wolfram, one of our preacher for LTD 07, who was also an US Navy SEAL.
They also welcome submissions of articles, so all those who love to write and have a story/testimony to tell, go submit your article!
I'm not a fantastic writer, in fact I tend to ramble more on incoherent thoughts that run through my mind, so this is my small attempt at writing properly. There is more things to write about, but I shall stop for now and return to my textbooks!
God bless.
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