Soul Ink

Been really busy over the past month(s)! thus no time to blog! haha

had a really great session with kel and the connect zone last night that really engraved things to my heart. Hadnt been to the "place" corporately for some time and its relaly was refreshing and above all impactful over my life and im sure im not alone! :) lets  do this guys! esp w345! haha

recently i heard this being mentioned by someone whom I really respect: "who are we to walk away from God? have you died for him?" That really got me thinking and was a reminder of how we view God and the church. The church is the earthly embodiment of God, through it believers from all walks of life come together corporately and serve together and sustain each other. But once we leave the church it says something, that we are effectually turning our backs on God. Ask any mature believer why they come to church and most of them would say that its for the presence of God, but the same believer may leave the church a few months down the road because of some problem that they have with another person! Its quite sad because the rationale for coming to church seems to point to the earthly relationships we have not the heavenly one that we confess we are supposed to have. God sent his son Jesus to die for us, how can we ever repay him? what have we done in exchange for him? clearly we are in no place to turn out backs on him, no matter what happens we must always be grateful for what he has done for us.

Just some food for thought, God I never want to turn my back on you!

So not matter what, Dont turn ur back on God! :)

Just finished a really tiring week where I went for a combined social awareness camp with students from NUS/NTU. The camp called ELEVATE was really good and the games as well as program were really something. Though it was tiring I must admit that it was truly experientially uplifting as well as being an eyeopener to the way we can change society today.

Of special mention is Schwab Social Entrepreneur 2008 Mr Kenny Low who gave us a very high level and inspiring talk on social entrepreneurship in Singapore today as well as various localities around the world. Really was a very inspiring and motivational talk to get us youth excited in who we are and what we could do to change our society and world we live in. The program was also good and kudos to the camp comm and the various other people who made it possible!

Was a landmark for me since I taught the mass dance, I was so nervous because it was my first time dancing a mass dance or dancing properly for that matter! I think I made a fool out of myself but nonetheless it was fun and I bet people were entertained by my silly expressions.

Still recovering from the tiredness and various other things that have been bothering me, need sleeppppppppp

Time has passed so fast! Gotten into the last 2 months of my holidays already! Sucky! Been really happy the past few weeks and have many things to thank God for! Lets list some!

1. Great friends who are willing to make the time to meet up despite their own busy schedules! (Dix Daryl Sheila Jean Jo Shy Erika Huimin and my new hangout buddy keith! )

2. Break-throughs in my revelations on how to worship God and how to bring others to a new level

3. Great Churchwide Bible Study with our very own Pst Kong who totally blows my mind away! love his allegories!

4. The GSS where I bought 2 CK shirts, 1 AX shirt and a AX belt for a total of $130,such a steal!

5. Mum blessed me with a guitar set up!

6. Dwayne who kindly opened his house for us to sadly see Man U lose to Barca :( dixon was like in mourning, poor guy

7. Grades that are acceptable and comparable to last sem, actually exactly the same but believing in God's plan

8. Breakthroughs in ministry where I have reached goals that I have set and will continue to surpass by God's grace


Of particular interest was the Songs of Solomon bible study, really impactful and awesome revelations. Its amazing how God can move a man to write in a way that not only shows romantic love between a dating couple but also how this love and relationship is mirrored on God's love towards us. Pst Kong also emphasized that the key to greatness is first recognising your own pride and sin, turning to God and " Drawing near to him" which was the crux of the message. Was really touched by the presence there today and I realy want to come to the place where I can really say I have drawn near to God. Though the "journey of drawing near" is never complete, I want to be able to say that " Yes I am indeed nearer to God today than I was last week or even yesterday". God reminded me of the first love and whether I would put him first above everything.

Been a really exciting week and BS, and to think that today was only the tip of the iceberg of the series! 4 more to go!! whohooo cant wait to rack my brain and be filled with revelation. Love the feeling when u link the whole verse or chapter together to synch the general meaning out of it and attain a greater revelation of God! I think im a nerd for Christ ! :)

Draw me away O Lord...

Had a great session with Poh and the subzone people, learnt lotsa stuff about worship like relationship with people and how to really bring down the presence of God! One great revelation is that I want not just to experience the annointing coming upon me but to feel it going out of me and being imparted on others lives. It really would make a difference! :) More to come from the lengkian !!

This should be a rather complicated blog post. Recently I was talking to keith about who people are and what they percieve may not be the truth. Hence I asked myself, what am I really ? who am I ? who is the real me?

Keith mentioned that sometimes I give off the vibe that  I am not who I really am. That sometimes the things I say trigger something in him that hints at something deeper. But then again he discounted the feeling as he was unable to pinpoint what it was and that even though it may occur to other people he said it may not be true for me, There comes the question who am I really? Is this the real me?

That got me thinking, is it ever possible to become someone that you're not in a subconscious way? Are you really who you think you are or are you simply a shell that you yourself have painted. So I cross examined myself and thought whether I was something that I have recreated or created myself. But I realised that this question can never be answered truthfully with my own confidence.

God created all of us, we are all his creations, however how we turn out and who we become is dependant on many factors; our families, social circle, upbringing, social climate, cultural climate and many more. But he is the one who creates all these things to in a sense mould you and make you who you really are. In a sense there is no real peer pressure that can mould you, I believe that all things work together for the good of those who love him. No matter what life teaches you, you will always be yourself and the true self because God has destined things to happen for a reason. Be it for your calling, your destiny or ministry or for personal experience to share with others it will all work together as long as we are secure in God and that he directs our paths.

The route is that we must first have a relationship with God, this in turn will create a road or reference to our lives and circumstances. The next thing we have to do is teach ourselves to be secure in who we are, but not by our own strength but because of who is within us. So no matter what happens or who you become, it is always the real you as long as you are being directed by God

Who I am now is the true me, even if it is not i'm secure in Him and i'm simply on a journey towards me being the finished product

Friends, they are the most common denominator in most normal people's lives. They are the glue that sticks people together, the social infrastructure of our lives. They are the people we hang out with, share our problems with and basically enjoy life with. But 23 years has taught me a few things, friends come and go. I have sort of lost contact with my JC friends and my primary school friends which just shows how fragile or misplaced the word "friend" is. How I would like to define a friend is someone who is a keeper for life, it could be a guy or girl but strictly in a platonic sense

From personal experience the definition of friend that has been built up over the years as follows; this is that I would call a friend albeit a high standard but all of them are a testament to the friendship and contact that we still share

A friend is:

The friend who offers you his house to stay when you have run away from home

The friend who always bothered to bring potato chips on the bus home so that we could share

The friend who opened his house for the one project that you hated

The friend who waited for you to take the one and only bus we shared home together

The friend who hung out with you and played CS even though he hated it

The friend who let you play soccer with them even though you were a noob and now in turn plays for your team

The friend who smacked you over the head with a tennis racquet and became you saikang buddy

The friend opens his fridge for food and ps3 for entertainment

The friend who you wrestled with and broke a wall over a remote control that lets you play a $3000 guitar

The friend who bothered to make friends with you even when you were so snobbish

The friend who bothers to meet up with you even thought all the rest of the clique have abandoned the outing

The friend who bothers waiting for you in the most obsure places and times and does so without a word of thanks

The friend who always bothers to ask you if you want a coffee or tea when they get one

The friend who always puts you back on track when you get lost in class

The friend who bothered to make time to spend with you when they had other appointments

The friend who bothered to talk to you when you were down and listened to every qualm and concern understandingly

The friend who cared enough to bring your things all the way to the other end of Singapore

The friend who even though it was embarrassing and hard to say still said the things that meant alot even as a guy

The friend who bothers to go out even thought they are tired for the sake of companionship and old times

The friend who has seen you or heard you cry

The friend who would scold you and destroy the friendship rather than turn a blind eye and see you fall

The friend who gave their heart and soul to change your life for the better, to give you confidence a vision and a hope

The friend who bothered to turn a failing case into a straight ace

The friend who would always pick you up when you fall

The friend who would not hesitate to lay his life down for you


The list goes on, each thing represents one person that I value as a friend, and each one there is something significant in that the friendship; that the friendship has gone through a problem of sorts. Friendships are formed in the fire, they are like sand, all individuals at first but when they go through heat they become clear and fluid, over time they become a tranparent piece that although hard and can last a lifetime if proper care is taken, if not it will simply shatter when probed. Shared experiences are the basis of relationship, only in the ups and downs do frienships form. Our destiny is intertwined with the friends we make.
 
So who are your friends?
I know all of mine rock! :)

After today's soccer match I realise that im not so young anymore, I bruise easier, ache for longer, am not so fit anymore and am slower! I always thought that I would only feel it at like 30? haha but i guess its caught up on me so fast, I had better take care of my body from now on! haha

Dixon u are really lucky u won that bet, if not next season you'll be playing next to me! haha

Back to studying! :)

2 more days before the muggasaurus becomes extinct

I realise that I've been blogging quite regularly, which is something that I never thought was in me!

Anyways ive been thinking about what I want to do during the holidays and I realise that I have so many people that im supposed to go on holiday with, theres my band pple, stanley and the jb gang, my law school people, sarah and whoever else is in her gang, my supper gang and of course dear kenneth! But I realise that the common denominator problem is finances! not much money in my bank account after BF, but I think me and aileen will try to find employment and contribute to the flailing economy. Anyone want to employ a  future lawyer!?!

time to study :P

Sometimes we may be so caught up in life that we tend to forget the little things that really matter, it's not the big things that affect us, but the little things that guide our day and determine how it ends...

the little chocolate that the hotel leaves on your bed

the word of thanks from gettin a job well done

the gentle affirmation when you do something right

the person who bothers to hold the door open for you

the people who bother to say good morning and good night

the little compliment people make about you dressing nice

a simple phrase "it's good to see you" or "how are you"

a offer to buy you coffee or tea even if you decline

a little note or sms of appreciation for your hard work

the call just to ask you how your day is

a smile on the street from an acquaintence

the person who offers you a tissue when u cry

the person who notices that you are sullen and bothers to talk to you

a simple random gift or phone call to show that the person matters

an offer to send the person home when you know its late

offerring a person panadol when they have a headache




Wouldn't it be nice if I could do all that....?

On the bus today I was thinking about coming up with a slogan/motto to live my life and God just placed the all to familiar phrase:
 
"Love God whole-heartedly and Love people fervently"

This made me think how such a motto could possibly shape my life and provide direction, I actually came up with a chart illustrating all the relationships but it could not be posted here! Apparently livejournal does not support MS word, haha so I shall try and put it to words. (hope i dont write an essay)

Loving God

This applies to loving our heavenly father, but how do we do so? We love someone by sacrificing something, and the most common sacrifices to God are our time and finances. By praying and spending time with God we learn discipline, get wisdom, get motivated and of course gain a new friend. What this in turn does for your life is that discipline can be applied to everything you do, from the little things such as chores that your parents give you all the way up to projects that your boss will give you. This in turn will ensure success in life since discipline is often the most common trait among the world's successful people.  The wisdom and heavenly insights recieved will undoubtably sharpen your mind and spirit, making you  a positive and sensitive person who is aware of the needs around others.

Loving people

This is no doubt related to loving God since once you start loving God you will start loving people since God loves people such as you and me! Once we have learnt how to love God we must learn how to love people. The little things we do and say, the thoughts we thing towards each other, when thoughts become words which in turn become actions , they should all be filled with love. What this does for your life is to open people up to you, you will gain more friends, make a better business partner, clinch more deals, relate better to your colleagues and in short improve your inter-personal relationship skills. Of course you will feel more loved and uplifted with a greater purpose in life.


Thus thats just a short and succint result of what love can do in your life, what a great motto for me to live by! The possibilities and results are limitless, thats just what I thought of on a short bus ride. I can see why Jesus said 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. It wasnt simply about love but a principle and standard to live by, everything else will come when you learn to Love God and Love people! Time to spread the love! :)

~a little bit of love goes a long way, it is the key to a persons heart ; not the least of which your own