Joyfully tired...

In a blink of an eye...
Camp has ended,
Discussion for I.F. has started rolling,
Huili's Short Film Fest was a fresh inspiration,
First official CG in MinOps 1 was inspiring,
Y-Comm retreat was a fulfilling one,
Comic Publishing Forum was very informative and inspiring,
Shuzhen's birthday surprise on Sat at Raffles City was fun,
Sentosa CG was super exciting,
Hanging out at Vivo at night was relaxing,
First time in WAM Vision Night was very inspiring and eye-opening,
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was very interesting and inspiring,
God is so good,
...
The JC people are having mid years now,
The whole MinOps are preparing for I.F. to their very best,
The high school ministry is going all out to reach out to their friends,
God is forever faithful,
...
Busy, busy, busy,
busy for people,
Harvest is coming,
God is moving!

A morning of sleep..

It was a very fun weekend I had. Attended the service after being refreshed in the camp and learned a few stuff in the sermon itself. We are all marked by a mirror. It is really true that many youths are struggling with insecurities in their life, even for myself. I used to confuse/mix up between pride and insecurity, until it was thoroughly explained by Ding Chuen during one of the shepherding we had last time. In a sense, both are quite related, when one overcomes his/her worldly insecurities, s/he can become prideful over that issue, but when s/he compares with another better person, s/he'll feel insecure again, and so on, so forth. This is when the security in the Lord and Kingdom mentality comes into the context. Security in the Lord is important so that we won't compare ourselves too much with other people or to meet certain unnecessary standards, while Kingdom mentality is about prioritizing the Kingdom business above all else, "By doing this, does it help to extend the Kingdom of God?" because the work that we are doing lasts for eternity, not just in this temporal world. Luckily I'm quite restricted financially, so I get to know what I should spend my money on, knowing what comes first. Thank God that I don't earn too much, hahaha..

Then after service and dinner at Meridien, we went to Marina Square for Bowling! My 2nd time bowling, haha.. I did quite well during the first set of game, then deproved during the 2nd game, I guess some beginner's luck is quite significant, haha.. Xinyi, Yao, Walmond, and Lee are the pros in bowling, seriously. And poor Ben Wai, always left at the last turn to save the day for his teammates, all the burden was upon him, but well, we won the first set and lost the 2nd one, not bad. Oh, and we had Ben's Flying Phoenix stance, Lee's Countdown, Walmond's high throw and Walmond-Yao handshake too! Those were quite funny as well. It was very fun indeed, besides the cost involved T_T

After Bowling, Huili, Ben, Puay, Layling, Jiancong, Matthias and me went to Jiancong's house at Sengkang, taking Puay's car. And when we thought that the car wouldn't be able to carry all the 7 of us, we were wrong, Puay could actually push down the middle seat to make the whole space more open, so the 5 of us could sit behind. Very cool!! Never saw such a car before, hahaha.. It was a very fun journey, we shared about our families, siblings, and some other random stuff. Now I know that people in MinOps are quite random one =P

Then we spent the night at Jiancong's house to discuss some Y-Comm stuff. It took us so long to settle down until we reached around 2/3am just to get started, because we were very sleepy and stone. We spent the time talking some random stuff (again) and digressed from the main topic to other topics (almost everytime), and in the end, only a few issues were settled. We went round to share our crush, customize our future spouse and stuff, haha.. Everyone were quite high at that time, especially Layling (excited over what we were gonna eat for breakfast). Then at 4am we ordered Macs after much digression of where to go for 'breakfast'. After breakfast I literally fell asleep on the spot, regardless of the hard 'mattress', because I was super tired that time. Then we slept all the way till 1230pm!! Ben, Matthias and Boss left us behind, though T_T Then after lunch, we went back to Jiancong's house with Walmond substituting Layling, and LeeJun waiting for us at Jiancong's house. Then they played mahjong!! While I was doing some stuff with Jiancong's computer, haha.. We stayed until around 8pm and all went home, phew, tireeeeddd.....(-_______-) but definitely fun!! (^ o ^)

And to end this entry, there was a very cool 'poem' by Audrey Hepburn that I heard during the sermon on Saturday:

Beauty Tips

• For attractive lips, Speak words of kindness.
• For lovely eyes, Seek out the good in people.
• For a slim figure, Share your food with the hungry.
• For beautiful hair, Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
• For poise, Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
• People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.
• Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
• As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

...

My verse of the day:

'I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is Your love, higher than the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let Your glory be over all the earth.'
[ Psalm 108: 3-5 ]

First Frontier...

Back from First Frontier camp!! Somehow year after year it seems that the camp becomes faster and faster, haha.. anyway it was great!! It was my first time having a camp in MinOps and first time getting to know the people there. The first day's games were an ice-breaker for me; the games were fun, although there are still things that can be improved (especially the frisbee game, pass hand to hand?).

Was talking to Daniel Leow during some of the breaks, sharing about what I have learned in the previous teachings. I told him that in the long run, I want to make a comic/manga that demonstrates biblical principles in it and may even be an evangelistic one, I dunno, it's just an idea of what I want to do in the future, but God may have another plan later on, a better one of course. Then he really encouraged me to pursue my dream for God and "Claim back what rightly belongs to God," as nowadays the media distorts certain values that conforms to the way of the world. I totally agree with him. Let His will be done through me.

On the 2nd night, the Y-Comm MinOps met up. There were 6 of us! Almost a CG size: Huili, Ben Wai, Puaylin, Layling, JianCong and me. We shared quite a lot of stuff, like the story behind the decision to come to MinOps, and... what else huh? Forgot already =P But I really2 enjoy their company, yeah, and I want to affirm Boss (hehe) that she's really the God-anointed one! The Y-Comm is here because of you!! Then we went for supper(?) at around 2am at ChongPang, the TauHui (is it the correct spelling?) shop there and also the Nasi Lemak stall. Ben and Puay drove us there, haha..

Oh I also want to thank God that I was able to finish the G.A.P. clips on time. Was quite stressed on that night, that I only slept for 4 hours, haiz.. T_T

During the last night (3rd night), when the night was still young, I was looking at the youths playing games, lots of them, in the hall. I don't know how to explain the feeling that night, but it was quite an eye-opening for me, like what one of the delegates from Hope HongKong said, the atmosphere was very different, family-like, and to see that so many youths are serving God, it was really.. heartwarming? I dunno how to explain, haha.. I'm really sure that they can complete CG08 as the MinOps work and support from behind. Jiayou people!!

Anyway, in this camp, the programme didn't exactly follow the initial timing, but it's a good thing to be flexible. "We can plan to our best, but still, allow the Holy Spirit to move as well. In the end, it's not about us, but about Him." I really felt that the Holy Spirit was moving during the 2nd night, when the night games were canceled, as well as on the 3rd day. Want to affirm the games comm people, that really spend a lot of time doing the water bombs that in the end we never used =P

I truly learned a lot from this camp, and there were quite a number of convictions that I had and determined to go all the way on doing it! My camp objectives were all met! It's really true that how much we can experience God really depends on how much our expectation is. It was really a fulfilling camp! I really believed that this camp is really a great one, one that can transform people's lives. Really thank God that I'm put in this church, really proud that I can be part of the church planting movement. You're really a blessing to me, Hope Church!!! The seed has emerged!!

After camp, DingChuen and I went to Causeway Point for lunch (initially), but when we see that Fantastic Four came out already, we decided to watch it, haha.. Anyway I really enjoy spending time sharing stuff and wisdom impartation with him =P Then we met the northeast JC people who were about to watch Fantastic Four as well, but different timing. Well, the movie was quite short, but the visual effects are great, the whole thing was quite interesting, yeah..

Oh ya, can those who took photos during the camp send me the ones with me inside please? Haha.. Thanks in advance. =D

My verse of the Camp:
"Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat-
for He grants sleep to those He loves."
[ Psalm 127: 1-3 ]

Hectic Week..

Busy, busy, busy!!!!! So many things happening this week that I felt too tired to do any entry! Hahaha..

On Mon, Wed, Fri I had the Word for Life classes which after so much thinking I've decided to go regardless of my job (Yeah, God first!). Learned quite a lot of stuff about Interpersonal Skills, taught by Shuzhen and Dennis, yeap, quite entertaining teachers, and last but not the least, Gideon! The main character finally made his appearance in the last day! Hahaha.. I think it's really an essential skill that any Christ Messengers should have in order to become more effective. (Christ Messenger, sounds like MSN Messenger, haha..)

Then on Thurs, I was planning to meet Yaofeng and Jiamin to collect our A Level certs and do some catch up with one another. BUT, we got pangseh-ed by Jiamin, bcos she left her phone in her bag while she was doing stuff for her council camp, so we can't contact her at all, haha, but it's okay man, move on. So Yaofeng called the McNair ppl, with an idea that maybe we can stop by there and chill, but they pangseh us also. Oh well.. Sometimes things never seem to go our way.. But it was really nice to meet up with Yaofeng and shared some stuff about our current jobs and stuff, I realized he's really blessed with many very good colleagues and work environment, haha.. And he's going NTU also! Alright man! Viva Nantech! Oh and by the way, the A Level cert and the SGC look very cool, haha..

And throughout this whole week, I've never worked full hours except on Tues, just to get all the above-mentioned things done, so I lost like 3x4 hours = 12 hours = $60!! T_T But never mind, I've made my decision and I must follow it through whatever the consequences, because I believed God will provide! Haha!

Was quite stressed for the past few days.. I haven't done the Camp Closing Clip and Missions Opening + Closing Clip!! Aaarrgghhh.. And the Camp is on Monday!!! Because of this, I also missed out the Adobe Illustrator class T_T Anyway, really thank God for Jiancong's huge Wacom tablet! It's really helpful, yeah.

Then yesterday I came late for service (my first service with MinOps and I came late, gosh..), well, bcos I was rushing through the Missions Clips (70% done!!). It was kind of culture shock, but it's not really a big deal, bcos I've overcome quite a number of culture shocks before, haha.. (from East -> Central -> Northeast -> now MinOps) I felt sincerely that I'm really welcomed in the group as we gather for dinner in the Snackworld (it's near S11 there, but no one will know there's such a place until someone tells about it, haha.. It's so secluded!), and the food was real worth the money! It was $6 though, but I guess there's nothing wrong with spending some money on good foods once a week, haha.. (Gotta save money, save money! >_<) Really enjoyed my first time with them, and I met Matthias (not the Mark Lee-Matthias =P), and he's going NTU-NIE this year! Haha, another NTU mate in church, alright! Then they prepared this huge chocolate cake with small M&Ms on top of it, it was so HUGE and we'd just finished our dinner! Hahaha, really2 couldn't finish it initially, until we had to play number game and the forfeit was to eat the cake (not the whole thing of course). I think Jiancong and Gwen got the most number of forfeits, haha.. It was quite a big success, we finished 3/4 of it (Whoah, breakthrough man!). Anyway, to whoever that baked the cake, I really2 thank you and appreciate your gift! It's nice, but a bit too much, haha.. ^^ After we were done, it was like 8pm plus already, can't believe we spent 3 hours for just a dinner, haha.. Really thank God for this family that He has put me into!!

Oh yeah, anyway, dunno why, maybe bcos of Shawn and Kaiwen =P but this week I was addicted to the McFly's songs: 5 Colours in Her Hair, That Girl and Surfer babe. They got nice, happy, jumpy tunes, and I love playing the guitar, haha.. Super fun! And one very sweet, touching song that I didn't realize that I have it until I browse through my com the other day:

The Father's Song
by: Matt Redman

I have heard so many songs
Listened to a thousand tongues
But there is one
That sounds above them all

The Father's song
The Father's love
You sung it over me and for eternity
It's written on my heart

Heaven's perfect melody
The Creator's symphony
You are singing over me
The Father's song
Heaven's perfect mystery
The king of love has sent for me
And now you're singing over me
The Father's song

Whoa, quite a long entry huh?

My verse of the week:
'If the Lord delights in a man's way,
He makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.'
[ Psalm 37: 23-24 ]

Life for the King..

The BGR Seminar on Wednesday has refreshed me on certain things regarding relationships and actually taught me quite a number of lessons even when I came late (I missed the first half of the seminar =P). We must prioritise our life in such a way that:

Life with God - Life with a Mission - Life with a Partner

The Story of Billy Graham and his wife is truly inspiring for me. It's a very special and God-inspired love story, haha.. I guess if He ever write a book of love stories, focusing on the biblical relationship between a man and a woman, whoah, it will surely be the Eternal Best-Seller! Hahaha.. Another thing I've learned is that:

"The clearer the vision, the lesser the options, the easier the decisions."

There are actually a few things that I really need to learn to apply this into my life, especially in making simple decisions that if they accumulate, they can influence my life in the long run. One cannot serve two masters. True, although I think it's easier said than done, especially when one is in a working context (like me, haha..). I honestly can't stop thinking of money, how I can save up more money to buy a Wacom Tablet, how I must work for full hour as many days as possible since I need to clear up my debts really soon and pay for the incoming expenses and stuff like bills (internet, utilities). So when it comes in choosing between growing more in God and work, the TYS answer would be God! Yeah, I really & truly agree with it, but to be honest, I have to deal with this issue for a few days until I feel convicted that God will never shortchange those who seek Him and that Life is not all about money!! Amen.

Well on Friday & Saturday we had our last unit CG and last service together as NEE2. And guess what, I haven't done writing cards for everyone!! Hahaha.. I felt really bad and thankful at the same time when they started giving me their cards. Really2 thank God for this spiritual family that He has blessed me with. I'll see you around dudes!

Oh and the Sephiroth fanart commission for Gerard is done! Whoah, my best digital work ever man! Although there are still things to be improved on.

My verse of the..week? =P :

'The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in Him.'
[ Psalm 37:40 ]