Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Joey's Testimony & Thanksgiving
2008 have indeed been an eventful year. Despite all the setbacks and unhappiness on certain occasions, there are still many things that I can thank God for. I will only highlight some of them, because His blessings to me are so bountiful that I can never explain it all in detail.
Firstly, I would like to thank God for keeping me, my family, and friends in good health. I would also like to thank God for putting some very special friends in my life, like Chai Hwa, Fu Wei, Alexandra, Chester, Daryl, Jun Kai, and Natalie. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed someone to talk to and share my problems with. Thank you for always being my pillar of support, always giving me the assurance I needed, and for all the encouragement you gave me. I truly appreciate the friendship we have and I treasure every moment of it.
Secondly, I would like to thank God for the opportunity to attend chapel camp this year. Being in the polytechnic, the school academic calendar is not fixed every year and I missed the last chapel camp because I had lessons to attend. However, thank God that this year my school calendar permits me to attend chapel camp. Initially, I see chapel camp as a holiday instead of a time to learn more about God’s Word. I just wanted to go to Malacca and spend the days playing bridge and going shopping with my friends. What’s more, with my parents in Singapore, I could practically do anything I wanted.
Seeing that there were two sermons every morning, I felt that it could be very draining and I did not want to pay attention to the Word of God. Thankfully, Pastor Henson Lim could keep me awake with his charismatic voice and I received quite a good percentage of what God wanted to tell me. In addition, I also took sermon notes and kept them till today. Normally, the sermon notes I copied would end up somewhere undesirable. This time it was just different. I not only kept the sermon notes, but I put them up on my blog for everyone to see. I just felt so proud of God’s Word after coming back from chapel camp.
The next step was to apply what I learnt from chapel camp into my life. Here is one example about digging deep. For me, quiet time used to be a five minute affair. It was more like a routine to me than a personal time with God. If I ever took more than five minutes to do my quiet time, the only reason is that because the passage for that day is too long that five minutes is not enough.
Upon coming back from chapel camp, quiet time has a new meaning to it. I fed on the Word on God such that it touched me deeply. I was doing my quiet time one day just after chapel camp, and the topic for that day was entitled “The Glory Of Humility.” Reading the article for the first time, I did not quite get what it was trying to tell me. At that time, the five minute mark was closing in already, but I was not distracted by the time. I vividly remembered Pastor Henson Lim telling us that if we cannot understand the article, just keep reading and reading until you get the meaning. By the way, reading is so not my cup of tea and going beyond five minutes is like a torture.
I continued reading and reading to a point that I started to break down and cry. I just could not control my emotions at that point of time. Initially, I thought that I cried because the article was very touching, but after digging deep, I realised that God was trying to tell me to get out of my egomaniacal self, which is very true of me.
The article reads, 'Rulers stride through the world with bodyguards, fanfare, and flashing jewellery. In contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in a shelter for animals, with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn King but a feed trough. Indeed, the event that divided history into two parts may have had more animal than human witnesses.' I was so amazed by God’s act of humility. If I were to follow him, I told myself that I must first put down my pride, because that was God’s very first act when he came down to earth.
trust through sorrow brings triumph over sadness
Sunday, 28 December 2008
21 December 2008, Sunday
Celebrate Christmas In Singapore was really a wonderful experience for me and my friends. Approaching people in the streets of Orchard Road is not as easy as it seems. With the fast pace life in this country, it makes it even more difficult. Anyway, it is all for one common purpose and that is all that matters. There were also many performances put up by various groups of people which made the night very entertaining.
22 December 2008, Monday
Blessed weather was granted to us for our trip to Wild Wild Wet. Thank God. We went on some of the rides over and over again since there were only a limited number of rides to try out. Overall, I like the Samsung Slide Up best, although I only managed to try it once.
23 December 2008, Tuesday
After going down to the gym, Jun Kai and I headed down to Orchard. I got a present for my parents there. I stayed on for Celebrate Christmas In Singapore for slightly over an hour instead of the full shift because I had a party to attend at church. The party had great food and the time of fellowship was remarkable. During the gift exchange, Daryl picked my gift.
24 December 2008, Wednesday
My family and I went to the Science Centre for more than half a day. We went to watch a magic show there which was quite interesting. Lunch was a little blend in taste, but I still ate a lot because I was famished. Our last visit at the Science Centre was the Omni-Max Theatre. We watched a documentary on “Deep Sea” before heading to IMM for shopping, where I bought most of the presents from.
25 December 2008, Thursday
Blessed Christmas to everyone. Church service ended about eleven plus. Thereafter, I went around giving and receiving gifts from my friends. In total, I gave out about twenty gifts. We left the church shortly after we settled our gift exchange, where about twenty of us went to Suntec City for lunch. Most of us ate at Fish & Co., while the others went to Just Noodles. I have a party to attend in the evening to end off the day.
26 December 2008, Friday
There will be a party at my house tomorrow, so I am ceasing the chance to study now.
27 December 2008, Saturday
I had breakfast with daddy and siblings in the morning, where we had delicious minced pork noodles. Lunch was at Margaret Drive Food Centre, where we had dumplings, noodles, and soup. In the evening, my parent’s cell group came over to our house for a party. There was a lot of food brought by various members of the cell group. I had fun barbequing the food and playing cards with my friends.
28.12.2008, Sunday
I attended church service in the morning before heading to Mellissa’s house for a party. The food that Fu Wei and Mellissa cooked was great. I like the fish and prawns best.
we can endure this life’s trials because of the next life’s joys
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Celebrate Christmas In Singapore invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.JPG)
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Sunday, 21 December 2008
14 December 2008, Sunday
The fun nite at church camp was a night of entertainment and laughter. I think Daryl’s group had the best skit although they did not win. My group’s skit was not bad either. Dong dressed up as a woman (how sporty) just for the skit. After fun nite was over, the youths had a time of sharing before we went back to our rooms to play and have even more fun.
15 December 2008, Monday
Last day of church camp was meaningful. I think that I have learnt a lot from Pastor Henson Lim over the past few days. The duration of the church camp seems very short and the things there are really cheap. I got to know a few people and also got to know some people better. I am already looking forward to the next church camp in two years time. Till then.
16 December 2008, Tuesday
Running with Daryl in the morning was great. I was a little tired and felt that my running was very slow. Anyway, I still completed the 5km route from his house all the way to Meyer Road. We went for breakfast after that at Marine Parade before travelling down to my house to study. Daryl ended up sleeping on my bed, while I was uploading photos from the church camp into my lap top.
Evening was a little more interesting. Daryl and I went to meet Anne, Junie, and Natalie, to bring them over to my house to play for awhile before going for dinner. Kia Wei and Lun Tat came shortly after with bubble tea for us. We all went for the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore briefing together. The briefing lasted about two hours, but what matters most is that we are all ready to serve God and share the true meaning of Christmas to the people around us.
17 December 2008, Wednesday
Getting back to the gym in school felt much better compared to the gym at the hotel. Probably it is because I am more familiar with the equipment in the school gym. I worked out with Mou Wei before going for lunch, which I had hot plate chicken noodles. Thereafter, I headed down to Tiong Bahru train station to meet Alexandra to go down to Aljunied McDonald’s to study together with Anne and Ericson. Alexandra was especially funny as she kept tickling Ericson.
18 December 2008, Thursday
Daryl and I ran a total distance of 10km at East Coast Park in the morning. After that, we went to eat delicious fish porridge near my house before heading to my house to study. I still have a lot of work to do before school reopens. Better start now.
19 December 2008, Friday
I managed to talk to someone and feel much better now. Christmas party was a time of praying, sharing, and worship. The food was very good and I ate a lot.
20 December 2008, Saturday
I skipped the last sailing training of the year because I had to accompany Lindsay to the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore briefing. Only about fifteen people attended the briefing. In the afternoon, I drove my mother and sister to Parkway Parade to get some groceries.
wash me clean and make me pure
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Getting Deep In The Spirit
- Spirit gives you liberty and takes away the veil.
- We start with the ankles, then knees, then waist.
- Convicted by the Holy Spirit where it starts to flow.
- Baptised into the body of Christ. Seal of the Holy Spirit.
- Empowered, filled, led, walking, and finally changed.
Getting Deep In The Word
- Spirit and word go together.
- We are not dried up people.
- The righteous shall rise up.
- The seed is the Word of God.
- Water is a symbol of the Spirit.
to grow deeper in spirit and word
Monday, 15 December 2008
Christalite Methodist Chapel Camp to grow deeper in discipleship and relationship.JPG)
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Sunday, 14 December 2008
07 December 2008, Sunday
Volunteering for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon was rather fun and the experience was priceless. It was very encouraging to see so many people sacrificing their sleep to volunteer for this event. Although the management was poor, making us wait for about three hours just to wait for the bus to get us to our respective areas of duty, I still enjoyed myself. The lack of sleep did not seem to exist while helping out at the drinks station.
The elite athletes took only about one hour to reach my station, which was located at some 20km away from the starting point. They were led by patrol vehicles to clear the running route for them. About five of them were running together and they were all Africans, probably from Kenya. It seems that they were only a few steps apart from each other and all looked very composed. Upon crossing the drinks station I was at, they grabbed the cups so fast that it caused the other cups to fall. Many of the volunteers including me were left in awe after seeing them run at such a fast pace after covering such a long distance.
The other participants took way longer to reach the drinks station. The last participant only crossed it at about eleven plus, which was about five hours after the first runner passed it. Shortly after the last person crossed, we started to pack up the place and waited for the bus to send us back to the Padang to collect our token of appreciation.
That is not all. Already lacking sleep, I still had to travel down to SAF Yacht Club in Changi to sail my boat back to National Sailing Centre. I took rather long to rig up my boat because I was not familiar with the procedures to do it. In the end, I took about two hours to get it rigged up. I then set sail to National Sailing Centre, which took about two hours. Ended the day by sleeping at nine.
08 December 2008, Monday
Being a public holiday, my family and I stayed at home until evening, where we went to IMM to shop. The drive there took about half an hour as it was located in the far west. We walked around for awhile before heading down to Redhill Market for dinner. The fried prawn noodle we had was delicious although the serving was small. The queue for the food was quite long and we were lucky to buy the last few plates available.
09 December 2008, Tuesday
Daryl came to my house early in the morning for a run. We took the route which was from Aljunied to Lavender. At Lavender, we headed to the ICA building to get Daryl’s passport problem settled. The queue was very long so we went to eat breakfast before heading back. The minced pork noodle was not bad, but it lacked the taste. Upon arriving back at the ICA building, the queue was still quite long, so we sat there and waited for about three hours before everything was settled. Chester came to my house in the evening for a swim. After that, we went to the steam bath and talked for quite awhile before he left.
10 December 2008, Wednesday
Besides going to the gym in the morning, I also met up with Daniel to collect some stuff. After that, I went to bowl with Chor Boon before having lunch. We were the only ones in the bowling alley and it was very quiet until we started our game. The silence was interrupted by the crashing of our bowling balls into the pins. Japanese food for lunch was good, but the serving was small.
I met Chester to go down to City Hall to shop, where I bought a pair of slippers, while he bought a pair of leather shoes. Waited for Daryl to come but he was held up at church, so we decided to pop down there to find him. End of the day by accompanying Chester for dinner.
11 December 2008, Thursday
I cannot wait for tomorrow to come. I am going to sleep now and tomorrow will come in no time.
12 December 2008, Friday
Start of church camp. The bus I was on board was the first to reach the hotel. However, we were behind schedule, so our free time was used to do the briefing and the allocation of rooms instead. I roomed with Jeremy but we invited Boon Teck over to sleep at our room since there was an extra bed. I love the hotel room as it is rather spacious and the bed is really comfortable, like the bouncy kind.
13 December 2008, Saturday
The sermon by Pastor Henson Lim this morning was really great. God spoke through him and I learnt a lot about growing deeper in the word and the spirit. During the free time, the youth ministry went out for shopping. Jonker Street was filled with many interesting things to see, and I love the fried ice cream best. At night, I played bridge with my friends till late before heading to dreamland.
we invite defeat when we remember what we should forget
Sunday, 7 December 2008
30 November 2008, Sunday
I have two papers kicking off tomorrow. Although I am halfway through my revision, there is still plenty to study.
01 December 2008, Monday
Time flies. It is already December and Christmas is around the corner. Somehow, I feel that I am not ready for this.
02 December 2008, Tuesday
Studying in school this morning was not really fruitful. The library was really noisy, but I did manage to complete one chapter of my notes. In the afternoon, I went to the gym with Jun Kai before heading to City Hall to meet Alexandra, Ericson, and Lindsay. We met for only about ten minutes or so, but I was glad to be able to catch up with them. I headed home with Lindsay since she was the only one heading east. Catch up a little after not seeing each other for quite some time.
03 December 2008, Wednesday
Four papers completed till date and one more paper to go. I am working extra hard on the last paper as the lecturer promised a difficult paper for the cohort.
04 December 2008, Thursday
When you travel down all the way to school to get help from your lecturer and find that he is not around, you feel that the trip is a wasted one. Instead, I spent my time in school revising through the lectures notes and tutorials. I also met up with Edwin and Joy to talk about the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore event coming up during the Christmas period.
05 December 2008, Friday
Last paper was manageable. Thereafter, I went to the gym while waiting for Mou Wei to finish his paper. We went to bowl since it was the start of our three week holiday. I did quite well in one game but I feel that I am still pretty inconsistent. After five games, we left school and I headed to Daryl’s house to go for a run with him. We completed a distance of 7km. The weather was permitting, making the run slightly easier for me.
In the evening, I went to Raffles City to meet up with Chester to help him select a cardigan. Shortly after, I met my mother for dinner and we went to Swensen’s at Marina Square for a sumptuous dinner. I had fish and chips for the main course, salad for the side dish, and a bowl of ice cream for the dessert.
06 December 2008, Saturday
Started off the day sailing competition. 32nd Starhub Singapore Laser Open was very competitive, with many national and school team sailors involved. It was a bad day for me though. The wind was too strong for me to handle, causing me to capsize when I was about to complete my first race. I recovered but I kept capsizing thereafter and was too tired to continue racing. I chose to give up instead (big mistake). Anyway, shortly after I was towed back to shore, some of my team mates came back to shore too. They also could not handle the wind. I came home with lots of bruises and cuts, but surprisingly I was not tired.
I got home and had dinner before taking a power nap so as to be energised for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, since I have to be at Bedok train station at one in the morning to catch the shuttle bus down to the Padang. I met Mou Wei at Bedok around ten plus to watch a soccer match together with Chester and Daryl. We had a good time even though we could not catch the match between Arsenal and Wigan Athletic. Instead, we watched the match between Blackburn and Liverpool which turned out to be really boring.
no one is strong to bear his or her burdens alone
Monday, 1 December 2008
December Events
01 December 2008 – CP4036 Mid-Semester Test
01 December 2008 – CP4041 Mid-Semester Test
03 December 2008 – CP5033 Mid-Semester Test
03 December 2008 – CP5038 Mid-Semester Test
05 December 2008 – CP5023 Mid-Semester Test
06 December 2008 – 32nd Starhub Singapore Laser Open
07 December 2008 – Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
12 December 2008 – Christalite Methodist Chapel Camp
13 December 2008 – Christalite Methodist Chapel Camp
14 December 2008 – Christalite Methodist Chapel Camp
15 December 2008 – Christalite Methodist Chapel Camp21 December 2008 – Celebrate Christmas In Singapore23 December 2008 – Celebrate Christmas In Singapore25 December 2008 – Celebrate Christmas In Singapore
31 December 2008 – CYM Overnight Prayer Meeting
Things To Do List
+ Christmas Shopping
+ Clean & Pack Room
+ CP513Z Assignment
+ CP4041 Assignment
+ CP5033 Assignment
gossip can never be justified and you can never justify gossip