Gideon's Cosy Canopy

my hair cut on tuesday

2007-04-29T01:04:00.000+08:00

Was pretty tensed up during the exam period. So the kind sisterhood of Eevoon, Debbie and Gwen brought me to a hair-cut in an attempt to de-stress... >_<

Had a great time catching up with Jon Tay and Matthias. Treasure the two of them so much in my life.

Listening to a song in my heart since last night:

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich"
Because of what the Lord has done for us
Give thanks

my shepherd- shirley melinda

2007-04-29T21:16:00.000+08:00

Celebrated my shepherd's "18th" birthday last night.

Here's something about her:

To me, she is not just a youth pastor, a powerful worship leader or a great teacher of the Word.
Shirls has been a real wonderful God-given person in my life.

As shared during dinner last night, Shirls is someone who I will approach to share my joy and burdens with. Sometimes I feel like she's my "verbal vomit trashbin"...

She is a really good listener, and everytime when I confide in her, I simply felt UNDERSTOOD.
I think she is someone who knows how exactly how to handle her sheeps. Even Eelee agrees with that. She is empathetic and extremely sensitive to those around her, yet not doing it in an overboard manner. She is loving yet firm in nurturing her flock and strives to instill strong biblical foundations upon the life of those around her.

Thanks Shirls for trusting me so much in my leadership even though many times even I myself have doubts in my capabilities. Thanks for the aids in days when I was really poor. Thanks for all the teachable moments with you. :)

Thanks for being so real and sincere to those around you. Indeed you're irrevocably shirls!~

my movie partner- freedy prajitna

2007-04-30T21:34:00.000+08:00

Was studying with Freedy at Starbuck Cathy today when Freedy got tempted to see what movies were on.

This was the dialogue between us when he came back from the ticket counter.

F: "I think Facture is a good movie"
F: "Its $7.50"
G: "Well, I don't feel like spending money today but if you really want I may just consider watching it"
(Pause for 10 seconds as we seemingly resumed back to our revision)
F: Took out 2 tickets from his pocket "Actually I bought the tickets le :D"

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

But the movie went well. Anthony Hopkins' acting was superb! Gave me the chills everytime he smiles in the movie.

In any case, just wanna take time to introduce Freedy as a great movie partner you can find.

Some of the movies I can recall watching with him:

National Treasure
Cinderella Man
Constantine
Passion of Christ
Mr & Mrs Smith
Batman: The Beginning
Kingdom of Heaven
The Lakehouse
The Covenant
The Departed
Death Note 1 & 2
Fracture

Next movie which is a must watch: Spiderman 3
Also can't miss: Harry Potter and the Phoenix's Order

Why some movies attract me:

Some of them are due to the plot:
SAW, DeathNote, LOTR

Some of them due to the enchanting actors and actresses:
Cinderalla Man- Russell Crowe & Renee Zellweger, The Departed- Leonardo DeCaprio & Jack Nicholson, The Lakehouse: Keanu Reeves & Sandra Bullock, Fracture- Anthony Hopkins

Some because of their societal/cultural implications:
Paradise Now, The Soong Sisters

Some due to the familiarity of their plot:
Spiderman1 &2, Harry Potter Series, Xmen1, 2 & 3

Others, due to simply a spur of the moment:
The Covenant

movie review for spiderman 3

2007-05-04T01:35:00.000+08:00

Watched Spiderman 3 with Freedy yet again today.

Here's my review for it:

1) Graphics and fighting scenes (****)

Many new characters were introduced in this movie. Sandman, Venom and Green Goblin 2.
Graphics were refined and clear. Like especially the sand effects for Sandman and the Spiderman's suit.

Fighting scenes were cool. Was quite sure that I held my breath a couple of times during the intense moments of the show.

2) Acting (**)

Tobey Maguire's acting remained wooden in this show. I mean I understand Peter Parker's supposed to be a nerd, but both Freedy and I was expecting a more matured version of Peter Parker in handling areas of his life given all the trials he went through in the earlier movies.

Kirsten Dunst's performance was rather disappointing too. Didn't portray an intense-enough acting especially when she witnessed the gruesome attacks Peter Parker suffered from Sandman. And come on! Considering the numbers of 'thrill rides' she already experienced in past 2 movies, can she not act so surprised and shocked as if its her first time going through all these traumas!?!?!

On the other hand, James Franco who acted Peter Parker's best friend Harry did an commendable job this time round. Witnessed his efforts in handling the shift of Harry's character over to the not-so-good side in Spiderman3.

3) Plot (***)

Think Sam Raimi who directed all Spiderman series attempted too much in this film. Too many characters introduced in one go, too many aspects to cover (romance, fights, friendship, moral integrity) and too little time = lack of depth in the movie. But well, at least we can comment him for his efforts and bold try! =)

4) Biblicality (***)

Well I do think that throughout the movie some biblical themes were brought up. Subjects such as handling our ego and pride, attitudes towards relationship and marriage and a call to make the right decision irregardless of circumstances are noteworthy stuffs to be observed in this film.

Overall comment: Watch it if you can! Not bad after all! ;)

Oh, leaving you guys with a scene from the movie. I was totally mesmerised by it: (you gotta see the entire footage of the show before you can truly appreciate this pic)

Youth Subculture- Emokids

2007-05-05T00:22:00.000+08:00

Recently I came across from my friends that there is a new breed of youth subculture rising in society. Thought will be good for me to post some information about these youths. A good-to-know thing espy for anyone working with youths. (Content taken from Wikipedia)

Emo is a somewhat ambiguous, controversial slang term most frequently used to describe a fashion or subculture which is usually defined to have its roots in punk fashion and subculture, as well as some attributes of gothic fashion and subculture

Music

The term emo originated in the 1980s to describe a genre of music stemming from the hardcore punk music scene in Washington, D.C. Early bands labeled emo (or sometimes emocore) in this scene included Rites of Spring, Embrace, and Fugazi. The term emo as a music genre has become broader and broader with time, and now is loosely understood to mean "rock music with emotionally-based lyrics or effect," which could be used to describe a broadly and poorly defined group of nearly every popular (or unpopular) rock band. The term is so loosely defined because its definition is still the subject of debate. Emo now often refers to a person's fashion, personality, or both, as well as the music genre.

Fashion

Emo fashion is usually defined to have roots in punk fashion as well as gothic fashion. By almost all current definitions, emo clothing is characterized by tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) often brushed to one side of the face, dyed black, straightened hair, tight t-shirts which often bear the names of rock bands, studded belts, belt buckles, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, skate shoes, or other black shoes—often old and beaten up—and thick, black-rimmed glasses. Emo fashion has changed with time; early trends included haircuts similar to those worn by the Romulans and Vulcans in Star Trek, tightly fitting sweaters, button-down shirts, and work jackets (often called gas station jackets). This has fallen out of fashion nowadays.

Personality

When referring to a person's personality and attitude, most definitions of emo hold that an "emo person" is candid about their emotions, sensitive, shy, introverted, broken-hearted, glum, stupid, worthless, suicidal and often quiet. Emo personality is also often connected with writing poetry, which addresses confusion, depression, loneliness, and anger, all resulting from the world's inability to understand the author. Emo poetry uses a combination of any of: a highly emotional tone, stream of consciousness writing, a simple (ABAB) or nonexistent rhyme scheme, references to the flesh, especially the heart, heavy use of dark or depressing adjectives, concern over the mutability of time and/or love, and disregard for punctuation, grammar, and/or spelling. Themes such as life is pain are common.

Some definitions of emo hold that typical "emo persons" are likely to inflict self-injury, most often by means of cutting, burning, or otherwise mutilating themselves. Some assert that it is cool within the emo subculture to pretend to be suicidal and self-harm, or that participants self-harm purely for personal enjoyment.

Emos are also stereotyped to use depressing Internet screen names that sometimes contain straight edge X's, often using ironic sloganry, a poetic sense or cliché (eg. xmourningafterx).

Criticism

In the years since emo music's rise in popularity, both emo music and emo subculture have attracted sometimes severe criticism. The term emo itself is sometimes used pejoratively, to suggest that the target is "overly emotional." Emo in general has been characterised as a fad which will be discarded and forgotten in the near future. Emo music has also been compared to the teen pop of 1990s boy bands. Critics cast the music as lacking any artistic merit, the fashion as "embarrassing" and members of the subculture as imagining or pretending that they lead harsh, painful lives when they actually live in comfortable, upper- to middle class homes. Members of the emo subculture are portrayed by critics as melodramatic, self-pitying teenagers who pour their efforts into writing bad poetry and spending a great amount of time on MySpace. The current emo subculture has been called a "sad caricature" of what it once was. Critics have gone so far as to contend that the emo subculture or emo music are likely to cause youth to commit suicide. The backlash against emo music and subculture has become so prevalent that it may itself have become a cliché: one commentator notes that "hating emo kids these days is as hackneyed as emo itself."

Grammatical usage

The word emo can be used as either a noun or adjective.

Adjective (1): All my friends are emo.
Adjective (2): I feel emo today.
Noun: That person is such an emo.

Typical haircut of emokids:

Typical dressing of emokids:

Pictures and video time!

2007-05-16T00:33:00.001+08:00

Real funny spiderman video Steven sent me:

Anyway, tonight was a fruitful one as I met some of my leaders to discuss about the future of NE. Something exciting is happening man!~

Just some pictures took past few weeks:

Tempting pic of Andersen's Family Fordue my team and I tried a few weeks ago :D

What we ate during Siewluan's birthday celebration last Sunday:
(Venue: Japanese Dessert Restaurant opp. Topshop @ Marina Square)

"Purposely Tired"

2007-05-21T00:54:00.000+08:00

Definitions:
(1) Purposely chosing to spend our time wisely upon His Kingdom
(2) Getting tired with a purpose

Ingredients of purposeful tiredness:

1) Seeing the value in what we do and what we yearn to see
2) Having the hope & faith to reap success and growth
3) Seeing our role in accomplishing this vision and mission

God spoke to me through the story of Noah regarding the future of NE.
We are heading towards A NEW BEGINNING.

We will clothe ourselves with the spirit of Noah. Making our stand clear that we are for God. Keeping our foot firm within His Word.

We will learn from our mistakes. Receive from our experiences. Look forward to our vision.

Gen 9: 1-3
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

Action plan:

This week is the last week of school! 10 high contacts before school closes. Don't Regret only when you really want to see friends coming to know Jesus in June yet you have no friends to invite and share the love of Christ with! React and Respond- 2 high contacts per day!

Another thing, if you have yet registered for camp, what are you waiting for? Don't miss out the privilege of being the FIRST FRONTIER of God's kingdom just because you missed the camp. $100+ for a life-changing experience for you- its worth it!

My heart is pumping so fast for what's in stored ahead for me and NE!

Before signing off, here's a anime I've been catching & loving: Hunter x Hunter
(Thanks Livi for lending me the DVDs!)

Characters in Hunter x Hunter:

My fav character- Kurapika!

Upcoming post: My views on friendship

Mrs Ivy Wong

2007-05-25T00:31:00.000+08:00

Decided to postpone my blog entry about my views on friendship.

Rather today I meet a old mentor, friend and sister in Christ which I've not been in contact for really long while I was with Kaiwen this evening...

Her name is Mrs Ivy Wong, my primary 6 form teacher.
With all my heart I really think it's so divine that God placed her in my life.

Still remember I was in the worst EM2 class in Hong Dao Pri (demolished) then. My P5 form teacher at that time? Simply cannot make it... His name was Philip Tan and we often call him pi li dan, yi li dan or pi dan... Well it doesn't sounds funny here but at our time he was the constant joke among my friends and I.

Well to keep things simple, my P5 teacher injured his leg when I was in P6. Mrs Ivy Wong who had been taking care of the top class came over to be my form teacher. There was a unique bond between both of us. I really enjoyed her lessons and my results soared sky high under her mentorship. I remembered staying back after school daily to help her with her administrative stuffs and to do my homework under her supervision and guidance. As a result I did really well for my PSLE beyond my expectations and ended up in St Andrew's Sec which was where someone outreached to me and thus sparked off this Christian journey in my life.

Later on when I visit her in school (which I did every year that time) when I was Sec 4, I shared to her my conversion and she was truly thrilled by the news. In fact she was so excited that she took some invite cards from me to mass print it in her office and requested for me to head to her class to share Christ and to invite them to our ESS that time! She also bought quite a number of her students to our church at a period of time.

Mrs Wong has always been ever so passionate for Jesus. In fact when I met her today she was trying to share Christ and invite a Malay selling OTAK to church. Even Kaiwen said that her love for God is evident and contagious.

On a more personal level, she is really someone I treasure alot in my life. Remembered the last time we talked was when I just entered army and she called me to ask how I was coping in army. She is also someone I'm really grateful to in life. God has a reason for placing her as my form teacher only in P6 and how I managed to enter SAS because of her.

I shared to her that one of her ex-student i.e. my ex-classmate is currently working at AMK Mac and we're hoping to connect this friend and to share with him the love of God. It was tonight too that she reminded me of a close buddy I had in school last time named Kenneth. I bought him to church once and he converted. When he went back school to share to Mrs Wong she was so excited that she presented a new Bible to Kenneth on the spot! Hmmm I wonder how is Kenneth doing now. Kinda lost contact with him after I changed my phone few years ago... :X

Looking back at my life and those people that God placed in my journey thus far, I can only sing: "For You are great, You do mighty wonders Lord, there is no one else like You, there is no one else like You!"

First Frontier Camp!

2007-06-16T23:44:00.000+08:00

The camp was indeed was special one for me and for the rest of NE. Think we all agree on that. We all felt that indeed it was a time of new beginning for many of us. Many hearts were touched in the camp. Vision and passion were poured like an opened floodgate throughout the camp.

People like Wenxiong and Liehao responded to start on their search for their own CG in Holy Innocent and Deyi, while sisters like Lijia declared their faith and determination to see their schools being won by Jesus!

Just a conversation that went go btw Sunny and me:
sunny./ says:
gi!
sunny./ says:
huaxiang and the monfort camp..seriously live changed by the camp
sunny./ says:
they're undertaking alot of initatives to grow their grp.
sunny./ says:
last night
sunny./ says:
after pm
sunny./ says:
huaxiang and bingliang took out their 50 contact list
sunny./ says:
call EVERYONE
sunny./ says:
until they get at least 2 persons
sunny./ says:
they nv eat dinner
sunny./ says:
never buy any drink
(•·÷[GÏÐ€ØÑ]÷·•) says:
so good!
sunny./ says:
keep calling and calling
(•·÷[GÏÐ€ØÑ]÷·•) says:
wow!!

We are growing NE! Our confirmation broke 100 on friday's night- we hit 114!
Quite sure we broke the 100 mark today too looking at the numbers of people in service today!

Personally for me God spoke in a real personal manner to me in this camp. One of it is about how I should really see it as such as great privilege to serve along with the youths. Where else can you find such a bunch of people who are totally crazy for God, energetic, passionate, available and mouldable? Only the youths! What's the point of investing our youth solely on things such as CCA etc.? No one will boost over their CCA achievements at the age of 75... Only what's done for the Kingdom will last.

When we serve God and enjoy the process, we can look back and say that those were the days we toiled hard and had so many memorable times together with one another in NE. When we grow old, we can still talk about our days in Yhope and how we are still fervently loving Jesus perhaps at the age of 70+! Let's do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures' time!

Yeongdeng and Marcus- the two hilarious dudes and stars for our NE Presentation:
Taupok Time!
The NED's girls...

All the Deyi students and ex-students:
(Don't you want to see this happens in your school too? P.S: 2 of them are now ULs and 2 more CLs)
Final March: Let's win all the 30 schools in NE!!!
The 3 kinds of seeds: Yeongdeng(durian) was so funny! "See what see, I poke you then you know!"
Preparing for GAP- Emerging Winner!~
St Nicholas' Girls!
The NEA's boys- Let's conquer AMK schools together!
The NED Grads' Girls..
(Warning: Don't let their smiles deceive you! When they scream glass will break!)
Scene of the people in NE taking initiative to help Chantel in finishing up the newspaper skirts just before the performance- so touching!~
The NEB guys practising their 'Hakka Dance'
(Think Chee Hwee should be awarded the most enthu award... Haha...)

Family Photos!!!

We won!!!!

Excerpt from Jiancong's blog:
Northeast did wonderfully good on GAP. It just seems like northeast has always been winning on such 'mega' events. The key to them winning was their involvement of the whole district and the sound effects.

Unity I say! Amen!~

Finally... The most gorgeous hunk in NE...

Let the joy of the Lord be your strength- ENJOY!

2007-06-24T22:55:00.001+08:00

For the past few weeks in NE we have been talking about Having a New Beginning in God.

New Beginning has already begun. NE we have been breaking 100 for the past 2 weeks!~
New Future now awaits our reach!

God spoke to me through Neh 8:10
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

God wants to clothe NE with a new spirit and a new culture- Enjoy!

We want to enjoy in NE.

Enjoy each other.
Enjoy serving and loving Jesus.
Enjoy seeing people receiving Jesus.
Enjoy being a shepherd and a leader.
Enjoy winning our schools for the Lord.
Enjoy going through valley of darkness with one another.
Enjoy the process of anticipation for growth and breakthroughs.
Enjoy stepping on each others' toes and yet choosing to forgive and accept.

Enjoy living life in Christ. We simply enjoy. :D

Let's build a strong and biblical community in each of our units and CGs.
Let's see a strong and biblical community being formed in each of our schools.

Even as schools are reopening, we will be searching for people who need Jesus in their life.
We will ask for R.A.I.N.

No... Not this rain....

It's this R.A.I.N.!

R esponsive
A vailable
I nfluential
N on-graduating

Pray pray pray... Grow grow grow...

Listening: The Scientist by Coldplay

2007-07-10T12:19:00.000+08:00

Great way to outreach to our friends.

Making free bookmarks for them and invite them for the upcoming ESS!

Can do it for your beloved sheeps or shepherds too! ;)

Here's how:

WHAT DO I GET?

One 300dpi 50x120mm (2"x4.7") personalised FRIENDMARK design with unique PROJECT FRIENDMARK number that you can print or send for printing.
One downsized version for use on personal website or email.
Your FRIENDMARK will be featured on this website as part of the growing collection.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE FRIENDMARK DESIGN?

Print it out on your preferred type of paper yourself, write a note on the back, cut it out and have it laminated before passing to your friend.
Send it to a printer / photolab to have it processed for better quality.
In fact, you are encouraged to use it in as many creative ways as you can - print it on a shirt, etc!

HOW DO I ORDER?

You are required to have a working email address in order for the order to be processed (for the FRIENDMARK to be sent to you). Send an email to order@projectfriendmarked.com with the following details:

- The name that is to appear in the "From" portion
- The name of your friend that is to appear on the FriendMark
- A note written to your friend that will appear on the FriendMark (approximately 50 words)
- An attachment of a high resolution photo of your friend (usually those taken with digital cameras will do) - this is important so that the finished product will appear sharp and not pixelated... if the photo consists of more than one face - do identify which is/are the friend/s you're making the FriendMark for!
- You will receive a confirmation email within 2 days of your email submission.

Click here:

Coming to an end of my placement!

2007-07-12T19:20:00.000+08:00

For those of you who don't know, I have been spending my summer holiday doing my attachment as a social work intern since May. My placement will officially ends this coming Saturday 14th July though I'll still be going back to my agency to finish the required 10 pages essay and to complete the program that I was involved in. :X

Ok for those of you who are curious, here's some background for my attachment:

Where did I worked at?

Care Corner Family Service Centre (Queenstown)

What are some of the things I did there?

1) Helping those in financial needs

2) Counselling

3) Working with youth offenders through Guidance Program

What do I like about this my attachment?

1) Food! (Love the Yong Tau Foo at the hawker centre here)

2) The staffs (They're real nice people)

3) My supervisor (She's a serving Christian too- taught and invested in me lots both as a Christian and as a social worker)

4) Expansion of my worldview (Grown so much even as I was exposed to working with different people coming from the various strata of society)

5) Clearer vision and stronger conviction of what God wants to do through me

6) Personal growth as a person through exploring my strengths and weaknesses

Photos time!

My fellow social work intern- Amanda (grey) and Cheryl (green)- Thanks for the friendship and all the support during our few months working together! =)

Oh btw the graph behind us are basically what our supervisors drew for us in terms of our growth during these few months. See the graph behind me! I've grown haha...

Photo with our supervisors- Each supervisor sat infront of their intern

Photo with all the staffs!

Invite your friends- 21st and 28th July!

2007-07-16T17:30:00.001+08:00

A Y-Hope's Production- I.F.
http://www.yhope-if.blogspot.com/

Freaky!

2007-07-20T20:57:00.000+08:00

Matthias just sent me this photo that freaked me out! God knows how this pic fell into his hands... I wonder how many more people actually have some of my ugliest past photos in their hands?!?!?!

Ya ppl... that's me when I was in Secondary 4... :X
The guy in white next to me is Leow Guo An aka Daniel Leow (Daniel don't kill me!)
The next one is Tay Yu Xiang aka Jon Tay and besides him is Jeremy Choo (church's keyboardist)!

See what age does to you, especially when you don't excerise regularly... :(

Ok anyway I'm trying to run nowadays lah so ppl stop bugging me!

Listening: My heart pumping with anxiety and excitement for I.F. confirmation...
(Let us be spiritual desperado! Let there be lots and lots of spiritual Jacobs in NE!)

Eelee's NE Mighty Men

2007-07-23T23:41:00.000+08:00

Stumbled across this pic through someone's blog...

Oh man those were the days when we were the coreteam under Eelee!

Where are they now?

Eelee- Church planting in Chile, South America

Jessie- Serving in Tertiary ministry

Wynnie- Serving in Adults ministry

Junhuang- Serving in Adults ministry

Daniel Leow- Leading YWAM

Debbie- Leading NE JC group

Peter- CL in Army group

Freedy- UL in Youth Northeast (part-time), Chairperson of BGT Movement aka Bully Gideon's Time (full-time)

Me- Leading Northeast currently but moving over soon to SPCA due to cruelty received for the past few years...

It's such a good thing to know all everyone of us are still loving Jesus and serving Him faithfully, being able to see how we serve from young till older and oldest...

Wanna have such experience too? Here's your best chance!

How?
Step 1: Invite your friends and schoolmates to I.F. part 2!
Step 2: Pray and share Jesus with them
Step 3: They receive Jesus!
Step 4: They commit to the church and start to grow
Step 5: They begin to serve God fervently together with you!
Step 6: Enjoy the moment and start counting down till down of you meet Jesus face to face! ;)

What a day!

2007-07-28T23:16:00.000+08:00

Was kinda surprise when I reached home before 10pm tonight- a Saturday's night.

My day started off with much anxiety, expectation, anticipation and excitement this morning towards the turn-up for I.F. and the conversion. So stirred up within me that I woke up pretty early to head for Nexus to pray.

Thank you Jesus! Shirley preached with her heart and lots received Jesus today! The sermon was definitely not easy for Shirls given what she gotta go through since yesterday. Couldn't contain my tears (out of admiration and respect) when I went to her to affirm her labour...

NE Sports Day went great too! The different units had a great time of trashing out each other in the different sports i.e. soccer, basketball and captain's ball. After that was time great dinner among the people and prize presentation!

Winners are:
Soccer: NEB
Basketball: NEA
Captain's Ball: NED (The girls dominated this game since all guys knew they won't stand a chance: "hand-off" policy ouch!)

Though NEC didn't win in the end (they were just so close in winning for basketball), I gotta truly applaud them for their teamwork and determination! All in all, everyone is a winner! Ok this sounds kinda chessy but well...

Oh I took time to pamper myself upon reaching home... (Talk about self-care!)

Introducing:

St. Ives Apricot Scrub!

Description: Over the centuries, the Swiss have developed and perfected their secrets for naturally beautiful skin. Gently exfoliates for a deep clean, removing dull skin cells to instantly reveal noticeably smooth, radiant skin.

Ahhh....

(Can anyone send me photos on NE Sports Day? I'll be truly grateful! :D)

So blessed!

2007-09-12T13:49:00.000+08:00

Hey guys so sorry it's been ages since I last blogged. Really busy ever since school reopened.

Anyway, I got this new phone recently- Nokia 6120 Classic. It's so cool with its 2 megapixel camera! Now I can take all the pictures I want and upload it to my PC!

Ok I need to feed my sheep Ruiyong soon so I shall just leave a few pics I took from my phone to SHOW OFF! (Wahahaha!)

Man I need to pack my room soon...

Need You More!

2007-09-17T19:44:00.001+08:00

Honestly speaking my school term thus far hasn't been a smooth one. All my lessons are stacked up and so I seldom have the chance to eat a decent meal in school nor spending time to catch up with my school friends. Worst still I took up two modules which I have NO IDEA what's going on.

Just took my Malay test and straight after that I smsed Shirls and Freedy for help! Saya tidak faham!

But well I know deep in my heart that things just can't go so bad with Jesus to the rescue! I'm glad that I'm a Christian living in a real world yet having a big and loving God assuring me in every step of my life journey. I shall pledge myself to give my best to my study and leave the rest to God. Dudes in NE you guys hear me? Let's all give our best to study hard for Jesus and trust the rest into His hands! :D

Ok pictures' time!

Compare the following 2 pictures- which one looks better- with or without glasses??

Photos proving that NE people are diligent students (most of them I mean...)

Signs of ADD (attention deficit disorder) after studying too long:

Went IKEA with Chantel last friday and 2 room displays that caught my attention:
(Oh how I wish I can have a room like that!)

Saw this sign outside IKEA, thought its so funny! At least to me lah... Move on!

The Men in Black! during Church Anniversary on Sat
(Apparently Alvin just lost all his hair after his enlistment to army this morning :X)

I am lame...

That's all for today. Till next time! :D

Time of Bonding. Mugging. Crapping.

2007-09-30T20:26:00.001+08:00

My CG Outing at Vivo City:
Good food at this restaurant that offers good mussels' dishes!!!

Found this boxing game at Vivo's Addidas' outlet which allows you to fight your opponent and then calculate the amount of calories you spent during the game :D

We also attempted to bring our fashion sharpness to another level!
(Look at Ruiyong! Latest hunk in town haha! Btw he rebonded and dyed his hair recently to relate better with his youths! Woo Hoo!)

Technology is amazing nowadays! Came across this with Freedy during our shepherding. The image casted on the ground can be played as games like the one shown. Note how Freedy attempts to stop the racing cars from moving using his legs.

Did this out of pure boredom while mugging with the rest:

See! Life can be so enjoyable when you surround yourself with people you cares and with those who care for you. And this is precisely how EVERY CAREGROUP SHOULD BE. We are here to enjoy each other's company. Be there for one another in thick and thin. Mug together. Outreach together. Sharing all the good and not so pleasant moments.

CAREGROUP is a gift that God has given us through the church. Don't you agree that sometimes serving God can be a rather tedious journey with lots of ups and downs? But I guess towards the end of the day people are seriously not concerned with working hard but fearful of working aimlessly and with no one serving in partnership with them. With a wonderful CG, serving Jesus can be such a breeze with twists of pleasant surprises at every corner!

Let us treasure our Caregroup- our CLs, our sheeps, our shepherds and our CG mates. A loving and united CG is and will be a growing CG! :D

Sealing off my entry with my favourite niece and wishing SUNNY LEOW A BIG 18th HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Till next time folks!~

1 Thessalonians 5:18

2007-10-03T00:12:00.000+08:00

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (THE MSG)
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Amplified Bible)
Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Contemporary English Version)
Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.

It's about perception- looking at things from God's viewpoint. Things become clearer. Hope springs out when we fix our eyes on Jesus. Circumstances around us make complete sense the moment we put on the lens of Christ.

Remain hopeful. Remain grateful. In times when your surroundings turned grey and when you feel real helpless and disheartened, won't you allow this verse to bring you back in focus with God? :)

What have I done?!?! >_<

2007-10-07T23:06:00.000+08:00

Got this from Marcus' email tonight:

He wrote:

hi gideon. this photo is dedicated to you. enjoy! :D

from NEB guys.

What did I do? (wahahaha!)

Enjoying Him like a Jacuzzi

2007-10-13T01:06:00.000+08:00

Walking with God is like spending time in jacuzzi every moment. It's refreshing and a great way for rejuvenation. I enjoy my time walking with God, possessing a child-like attitude by grazing at the goodness of God with great amazement through all the little things that I am able to be thankful for.

Are you enjoying your life with Jesus today? :)

Jesus is my Love and He is a great Buddy who I want to spend my entire life with. Jesus also brought in a band of brothers (and sisters) to inject ultimate fun and laughter into my life. My visits to some of the groups this week were especially rewarding. When ever I see how dedicated my leaders are, I just feel so proud and touched at the time. They are not just my comrades but my very precious friends.

It brings me great joy too when I see new believers like Shaun who testified about God's goodness and realness, and when I see people growing and nurturing under the biblical leadership of their leaders and shepherds.

Haa... I really enjoy my life in Jesus! :D

Ruiyong's treat to Sakae Sushi for his first pay at Life Bookshop!

I began to exhibit signs of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) after eating for awhile...

Failed attempt at capturing the NEB guys' jumping stance into the pool...

Boys going through puberty are monsters during meals! :X

The boys went crazy in Carrefour... Warriors wannabe

One of my social work friend who took Malay with me. We were supposed to present on Malay "kueh" using simple Malay and she shocked me when she dressed up like a Malay for class!

Went back to my attachment agency on Wed for my school project. Man I really miss the staffs there especially my supervisor! Oh and this is the famously acclaimed Chicken Wing found in Commonwealth. According to the owner this is THE nicest Chicken Wing in the entire island. Yummy!

Mervin told me that I wasn't allowed in Mos Burger as he points to the sign---> >_<

My two good friends

2007-10-17T00:52:00.000+08:00

Let me introduce you to two of my very 'good friends' during my mugging in the night:

1) Jay Chou

Those who know me well will know that I'm a huge fan of him. Really admire his musical talent. Listening to his songs at night just really help me to remain awake and alert while studying... like now.

2) Radio.Blog.Club

It's an online 'radio' where you can register as a member and source out all the songs you want to put into your very own playlist. It's a great online music substitute for people like me who can't really afford to buy Jay Chou's album... Neither do I want to be caught for downloading music illegally too haha...

Now listening: Jay Chou- White Windmill

I don't want to miss a thing

2007-10-18T22:33:00.000+08:00

Came home a little early today and was pleasantly surprised to find out that Channel 5 was showing the movie Armageddon. Man this was one of the movies I got really crazy about in my secondary school years. Oh and the MTV rocks! Really!

Anyway speaking about "don't want to miss a thing", I'm asking myself what is something that I wouldn't want to miss out in my life. For those in NE, let me think through about this and share with you guys this coming Saturday straight after service at America Room.

Meanwhile, won't you take some time to think through for yourself too? What are the things you wouldn't want to miss? Think about it. :)

Won't You Break Free!

2007-11-07T15:23:00.000+08:00

I'm singing "Won't you break free, won't you break free, 1 more assignment to go and I can be free.... Before the arrival of exams that is..."

Shirls tagged me to write six weird things about myself. Well I got a pretty long list for that so I shan't do it for this blog entry since I'm in no mood for that currently.

Anyway recently after my sharing of Lesson 6 for Word-centered church series, thought what I shared towards the end of it was something really close to my heart. Here you go, my speech of the day!

To sum up my vision- a vision to see a growing generation of youths loving God’s Word, doing God’s Word, transformed by God’s Word and in turn bless others through God’s Word.

Because of this purpose, everything that we have said before make sense. They are the manifestation of the vision that we have. Finishing the schools in NE, growing ourselves, doing the best in our life in various aspects, having a NE camp and service etc.

I am disappointed when I see that people are laid-back. When people are not taking the initiative, when groups are not matching up to their potential. When people not longer love Jesus as much as they did. When people don’t grow despite being in the church for so long!

On the other hand, I feel comforted that people sacrificed for pioneering, people rising up as shepherds, people taking the initiative and go beyond what they are required or instructed, people over-coming struggles or short-comings in their life, people coming to know God, excited CGs, attractive community, passionate evangelism, attendance that indicates commitment--> all these are what kept me on because I’ve seen it and I believe that one day this will stretch to the entire NE. But I know that to start this dream I need the support of my workers, my wineskin, those closest to me, those who know me well to catch my spirit and heart and not to misinterpret me.

I need you guys to make our dream a success. I need you to stretch yourself and serve as a model for the rest of NE. I’m asking you to make my dream your dream. I inviting you to serve with me and not come against me.

Catch the dream, flow in the direction, take lead and take ownership, count the cost, pay the price. This can be a journey you may embark which you will never regret. Suffer yes, sacrifice yes, struggles yes, but regrets- never!

Caught the message? If yes, let us show our faith and deeds on the upcoming 17th and 24th November- PLAYLIST ESS!

Finally, leaving you guys with pictures to summarise recent happenings in my life:

21st Birthday of my schoolmate:

Scandalous! (Shirls was the one who manipulated me to take this photo :p)
Caught sleeping! (Haha my teacher always say: You can do anythin you want, just don't get caught!)
Belate birthday treat for Pastor Jeff- yummy food at the Jap restaurant located at Starhub Building:
Listening to: