开个小玩笑

Three persons passed away on the same day and found themselves in front of Heaven’s Gate. They were each asked about their occupation before being granted the permission to enter. The first guy replied saying that he was a doctor and has helped to save many lives and healed different diseases. The second guy mentioned that he was a teacher and has labored to mould the lives of the next generation, thereby helping to produce useful people for the society. Now, it was the third guy’s turn.

Suddenly, the Heaven’s Gate opened and God stepped out. With tears in His eyes, He hugged the third guy and said, “You don’t have to say a thing, my child. I know that you have worked hard all your life. Come on in.”

The third guy was an engineer.

Moral of story:
Engineers are known to be hardworking.

This joke was adapted from my boss’s database and his key point was that we need to be hardworking to be engineers. Hence, staying back in office till 10pm is just the tip of the iceberg. Frankly speaking, I really enjoyed this joke and therefore decided to put it in as an entry. =)

猫头鹰的智慧

I really cannot believe that I have actually switched my biological clock so instantly that I am awake for the whole night. Wah, thanks a lot to those who have been praying for me to adapt to the night shift. I must say that I have adapted pretty well. The only problem now is I think I may be very sleepy later during church service. Hmm, can pray for me again if you happen to see this post now? Thanks. =)

Okay, here is a picture which I have gotten from the net.

I am okay with working in the night shift but one setback is I will have more severe black eye rings than before.

暗恋史

在念理工学院的时候，我曾经暗恋过一位女生。暗恋很久，长达八年之久。其实如果她现在还单身的话，我想我应该会向她展开追求攻势吧。

可是话又说回来，如果当年的我并没有向她表白的话，八年后的我还会有这个勇气吗？一九九八年，十八岁的我认识了她。从那时起，就暗恋了她。三年后，我信主了。可是她并不是基督徒，所以我发现我不能跟她谈恋爱。从此虽然我们依然保持联络，但我还是一直没有跟她表白。

事隔八年了，今年就是第九个年头了。今天的我还有跟她联络。不知道她有了对象了没有。不管怎么样，我会为她祈祷， 希望她会有回到主身边的一天。这样的话，我们还能在天国见面。

经过这段暗恋史的我虽然今天依然是孤家寡人， 但我却学到了如果碰到喜欢的人时，就一定要跟她表白。不然人事亦非时，就后悔莫及了。不过在向她表白之前，我要先问一问我天父的批尊，因为说什么，主耶稣可是我未来内人的公公呢。

成长的过程中

In the process of growing up, we all face changes and different challenges. For me, I am not really a person who will resist changes all the way but I certainly need some time to get used to changes. Like what I have mentioned in a previous post: Stages in Life, there are various stages in our lives and I am now at the adult stage – the second last stage of life.

At the adult stage, there are new added responsibilities and in the beginning, I am not really used to it. For one, I am not really used to paying for everything which I hope to acquire. In the past, my parents will pay for me but now I will have to pay for something which I want to buy myself. On top of that, I have to pay for my parents too. That’s a change. Being an adult, you also need to bear all consequences for your action. Responsibilites is that essential element which put stress on you. This is simply because you are solely responsible for the tasks assigned to you. Hence, if you happen to mess things up, you will need to be prepared to answer it to your boss. A fact of life. Changes for me to adapt again.

Sometimes, children will hope that they will grow up soon as being adults have all the freedom which they like. They think that being a child has its own restrictions. Okay, that may be true in their context but having an adult’s freedom comes with responsibilities. (Does this remind you of Spiderman?) When you have endless tasks waiting for you in the office and endless bills to pay, the sight of the so called freedom eludes you. That’s a new challenge for you in life.

I think God plans for everyone to commence life as a baby so that through the years of growing up, we can gain some fundamental experiences which are required to prepare us for adulthood. We started off by depending on our parents for every single thing. Through the years we spend with our parents, it has shaped our mentality on how we relate to others and also how to guide our own children to adulthood. We make mistakes to learn. We may take the wrong paths but we are sure we will not let that happen to our own children. My dad, for example, has told me from young to get a good education so that I will not be like him who is illiterate.

The years of growing up is essential to prepare us to face issues in life. Even right at this moment, I am still learning new things everyday and gaining new experiences to share. Everyone will need to go through five different schools in life. Four from primary to university while the last one is the ‘Society University’ (社会大学). Getting four A*, 8 A1s or countless distinctions coupled with diploma of merit and First Class Honors degree will not get you anywhere in life. The key point is to ace and excel in the Society University.

Many did not even make it to a tertiary education but have excelled in the Society University alone. They have graduated from this life with the honors of remembrance by many. Therefore, in growing up, be ready to make mistakes to learn and to treat issues like treasures because they are free lessons for you to acquire that experience in life.

步入第二夜

Going into the second day of night shift tonight, I found out this morning that I am disorientated with my dates. Yes, I was telling my colleague that I would be working tomorrow which in actually fact is today because the time when I was telling her was 0515 hrs. “Oh yah hor, today! Haha.” She told me that even after I woke up from my sleep at home, it is still 22 Jan 07 (today).

Overall, the toughest night which was last night had gone. I was doing well the whole night, staying quite alert and refreshed till 0645 hrs this morning when I started to feel the tiredness overtaking me. From 0645 to 0800, I felt the sleepiest. Hope to perform better tonight by staying alert all the way.

Slept from morning till 1600 hrs. Woke up to have a light dinner and now preparing to get back to work which commences at 1920 hrs.

Pls continue to pray for me to be able to adapt well to the night shift and also to continue to be holy for the Lord because He is holy (Lev 19:2).

新家的第一夜

Tonight, I will be working in my first night shift in my new office. New section, new working shift, new office, new phone, new chair, new cubicle with new table but only my computer is the same one from previous office. Then again, my computer is relatively new too since it does not have some of the software at first for my job.

A new beginning after my confirmation for my job, I really give thanks to God for granting me this job. In everything, give thanks to Him (1 Thes 5:18). Everything means that even when I am struggling in areas of purity, financial security, life and death, I am to give thanks to Him. Maybe because everything that can happen to me has been approved and granted the permission by Him.

I am struggling in the area of purity for the past thirteen years and counting. This is so true that I am still struggling today. I lent my laptop to a brother for his FYP because I did not want to log on to those websites ever again. However to stay in touch on my emails, I still have to use my sister’s laptop. Logging on to the net always causes me to sin in this area. Why can’t I just be obedient to Him for once?

This year, I am sincerely preparing my heart to be baptized. The heart condition is truly what God sees. Hence, I hope to dedicate all areas of my life to Him, submitting to His will for me and living out my life by His word so as to be truly filled with the spirit (Eph 5:18).

Working in the night shift will be a great test for me. This is simply because there will be no one at home when I come back from work. This will be a great temptation for me to fall in the area of purity. I sincerely urge any believers of Christ to pray for me at least for these following three months that I will be able to win this battle which belongs to God. In addition, I will be missing from church services and cell meetings due to my work. No matter what, I do pray that I can continue to go in the direction where God wants me to go.

感谢上帝!

Rocky Boat

Singapore is an island. We are surrounded by sea and so traveling in a boat to go to other islands around us is one type of transportation which we can use. For me, I have traveled on a boat before and if the sea seems to be having rough waves, the boat will be rocky.

What happens if you are on a rocky boat? You will need to anchor your boat on something that is firm and to grip on it as your foundation. Then in that case, your boat will not be rocky and it is ready to face the storms and waves in the sea. If you do not want to find the foundation to grip on, your boat will not only be rocky but it will start to follow where the storms and waves lead. Soon it will lose its direction.

Take note.

You cannot control the coming of the storms and rough waves but you have the freedom to decide if you want to anchor your boat on something firm.

In the Graveyard Hours...

I will be proceeding to the night shift starting next Sunday, 21 Jan 07. Pls pray for me to be able to adapt well to the new working hours and also to be able to sleep well during those hours which I am required to sleep. Becoming a night owl or night kitty cat soon. Owl is wise while cat has nine lives. Anyway, here's my working schedule till Feb 07. =)

Deception

I will like to write a post on deception. What is deception? Deception is the act of deceiving. It is simply the act of bluffing or lying about something. There was a movie called, “Liar, liar”. I am sure all of us can identify with the man in that movie. When it comes to a stage when he can’t lie anymore, life becomes difficult for him.

Just how serious is saying a lie or believing in a lie? I used to think it is okay to say a lie once in a while but I am still annoyed when someone lied to me. Sometimes, I termed some lies as white lies, which means that they are not serious lies. However, now I think the term, “white lies” is a big lie by itself. I strongly believe that lies or deception is a very serious problem. This is simply because my enemy is a father of all lies!

In other words, every lie which I say comes from my enemy. If I want to live by my Father’s truth but yet still carry on lying, then am I following my Father or my enemy instead? Thinking back on this, lies accomplish the motive of deception which destroys the fellowship with my Father.

The enemy has deceived every unbeliever in my midst (2 Cor 4:4). He has also not let the believers have a chance to go scot-free because he is still doing all he can to continue to deceive them through temptation. The guilty pair came in being because of deception. Hence, let us be strong and abide strictly to what our Father has said in His word.

Before you want to say a lie next time, do think twice. If you claim to know the Truth, the Way and the Life, why are you now trying to bluff your way through?

Goodbye 2006, Welcome 2007

2006 is a year that passes like a flash to me. As a matter of fact, every year passes like a flash but this year, it is too eventful for me and yet still passes like a flash. There are a total of two major changes in my life for 2006. The first change is from a student life back to army life. The second change is from an army life to a working life.

At the beginning of 2006, I remembered that I was rushing for my Final Year Project (FYP) and also preparing for my final exams in my final semester. It was quite a stressful period for me as I saw the deadline for my FYP report approaching and also the presentation after my final exams. I was very concerned about who my moderator for my FYP is. The reason being that, if I was assigned a very strict moderator, I will have a very difficult time answering his demanding questions.

All praises go to God for seeing me through all things and you may have known by now, I have graduated back in June this year. This was where my first major change began. I started to apply to go back to army to resume my disruption to serve back my remaining four months of service. It was a period of uncertainty for me as I am not very sure how the army looked like after three years. I heard that it has become 3rd Generation (3G).

Going back to my old familiar camp was a very memorable experience. I saw how the camp has changed after a new coat of paint and renovations. The computers used were no longer those old army computers but new Pentium IV ones complete with LCD monitors. Wow! Met up with my familiar army friend as she is a regular and still works in the same branch as before. Again, time passes like a flash and in no time, I have ORDed with a green certificate and ready to go out to the real world.

The second major change was from an army life to working life. If I have lamented that student life in NTU is nothing but stress everywhere, I am too naïve because working life is truly where the stress level peaks. This is simply because you are solely responsible for the things under your care. Hence, if you happen to make mistakes, you will need to be prepared for a good scolding by your boss. I am still adapting to this life and learning new things along the way. However, I am glad that I have began a brand new chapter which will last a long way, at least till I retire. Thus, no major changes for the time being.

Looking back at 2006, I can see that I have gone through these major changes in my life with God’s purpose set for me even way before I was born. How I have landed in my current company and department was also planned by Him. Going into 2007, I will want to live up to His purpose for me in my life by truly mediating upon His attributes.

Blessed New Year Ahead.

The Attributes of God

Because God is a personal Spirit, I will seek intimate fellowship with Him.

Because God is all-powerful, He can help me with anything.

Because God is ever-present, He is always with me.

Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.

Because God is sovereign, I will joyfully submit to His will.

Because God is holy, I will devote myself to Him in purity, worship, and service.

Because God is absolute truth, I will believe what He says and live accordingly.

Because God is righteous, I will live by His standards.

Because God is just, He will always treat me fairly.

Because God is love, He is unconditionally committed to my well-being.

Because God is merciful, He forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them.

Because God is faithful, I will trust Him to always keep His promises.

Because God never changes, my future is secure and eternal.

i am fine now

Thanks, everyone who has been spending their precious time to care for me for this past week. I will like to tell you all, “I am fine now.”

I really thank everyone who has poured out their concerns for me. I have learnt a valuable lesson from God and as I walked out of my downtime, I thank God for putting me through this test. If not for this test, I think I will still not be able to understand how to grow stronger in times of trials.

I have grown more accustomed to my job now and felt no longer so stressed and traumatized about going to work. Adapting quite well now and I will say my relationship with my colleagues is improving too.

I feel that although time is never on my side, it can heal all wounds and hurts. I will like to give everyone time for healing and also God’s spirit to be our mediator so that truly we can all experience the wonderfulness of reconciliation. =)

江湖

我生病了。

The Wedding Banquet

I cannot come
I cannot come to the banquet, don’t trouble me now
I have married a wife; I have bought me a cow
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum
Pray hold me excused, I cannot come

A certain man held a feast on his fine estate in town,
He laid a festive table and wore a wedding gown
He sent invitations to his neighbours far and wide
But when the meal was ready, each of them replied:

I cannot come
I cannot come to the banquet, don’t trouble me now
I have married a wife; I have bought me a cow
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum
Pray hold me excused, I cannot come

The master rose up in anger, called his servants by name,
Said, “Go into the town, fetch the blind and the lame,
Fetch the peasant and the pauper for this I have willed,
My banquet must be crowded, and my table must be filled.”

When all the poor had assembled, there was still room to spare
So the master demanded: “Go search everywhere
To the highways and the byways and force them to come in.
My table must be filled before the banquet can begin.”

Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind;
If we’re slow in responding, He may leave us behind.
He’s preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,
When the Lord and Master call us, be certain not to say:

I cannot come
I cannot come to the banquet, don’t trouble me now
I have married a wife; I have bought me a cow
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum
Pray hold me excused, I cannot come

Blowing In The Wind

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man? (Yes ‘n’)
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand? (Yes ‘n’)
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned?

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky? (Yes ‘n’)
How many years must one man have
Before he can hear people cry? (Yes ‘n’)
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea (Yes ‘n’)
How many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free? (Yes ‘n’)
How many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind

Do I Truly Know my God?

I was pondering over this question at least for this past week. Since opening the door of my heart to my God, have I truly been spending time to know Him? Realizing that my life is currently busy with work, ministry and family, am I truly spending time to know Him? If I say that He is a close friend of mine, what have I knew about this Friend?

There are just too many attributes of God for me to know and find out. I think I will spend the rest of my entire life and I will still be unable to find out everything about Him. I truly need to understand Him so that I can walk close with Him to go through my life. He is my Creator. He is All-Powerful. He uses His power in my behalf. He is Present Everywhere. He is Always with me. He Knows Everything about me. He is Sovereign. He Directs my life. He is Holy. He gives me power to become Holy. He is Absolute Truth. His Truth sets me free. He is Righteous. He helps me to live righteously. He is Just. His Justice works for my good. He is Love. He helps me spread His Love. He is Merciful. He Expects me to Extend Mercy. He is Faithful. He Enables me to be faithful. He Never Changes. He gives me to rest in Him. Many, many things to know and find out about Him.

I want to truly understand my God if not the life I live will be wasted. I want to know all about Him so that I can share His attributes with the people around me. The entire Bible is rested on His attributes. Unless I spend time reading His Love Letter, I will never even get to know one of His many attributes deep enough. In addition, I need to understand that all the reading of His Word is not for my own intellectual knowledge but simply to know this Close Friend of mine.

If I truly know my God, it will affect my friendships, my work, my leisure activities, the types of literature I read and even the music I listen. If I do not have the right view of God, how can the people around me even begin to see Him as He is? The right view of God will change not only my life but the lives of many people around me magnificently.

Let me get to know my God deeply so that I can get to love Him back in the same manner which He has loved me. Father, guide me by Your Holy Spirit in getting to know You.

Final Two Mini Events for 2006!

Event #1:
Cell Gathering on 30 Dec 2006

Event #2:
Night Biking Trip for WatchNight Service cum Supper on 31 Dec 2006 to 01 Jan 2007

***************************************************
重点 (Key Point):
You can get to see C.S. in person! ~haha~
***************************************************

Friday Reflections - Reloaded

It is Friday again. Another week has passed and weekend is here in less than 2 hours. Wow, super fast. Time has passed by every person without waiting for anyone. Who can say that time has waited for them even just that one moment? I dare not say so for myself.

Although I do agree the fact that work can never be finished, I simply need more time. I started to realize that as a matter of fact, twenty-four hours a day is simply not enough for me. Can I have more than twenty-four hours? Maybe give me another twenty-four hours to make forty-eight, can? Then, I can use that extra twenty-four hours to spend time jogging, reading or resting my mind.

Everyone has the same twenty-four hours. The difference is how do we spend that amount of time. It is just like our cash on hand. The same amount lies in everyone’s hand when the clock strikes twelve midnight and a new day begins. Right now, I will say that I spend more than half of the amount I am allocated to my work. The rest goes into sleeping, eating and leisure time like internet.

This week passed by very fast in the midst of me trying to finish the tasks assigned to me on hand. I am learning new things everyday and currently still learning. There is just too many things to pick up in my job. I need more time but time is not on my side. That is why tomorrow I plan to go back to office to finish up some of my work.

I am developing my passion for my work and beginning to find my job more and more interesting and challenging. However, stress is definitely present and what I can do is to learn how to work with stress and not be overcome by it.

A poem by C.S
Manage Time and Manage Stress,
Do your Best while God will do the Rest,
Remember to Rest well so the mind can wonder Less.

My Hobby - Running

I am also not sure when did I start to fall in love with running? I think it must be during the time when I was doing my exchange program in Shanghai last year when I started to run. As I ran to cover more and more distance, I truly enjoyed the joy of completion after a run. Maybe that's why my new resolution for 2006 is to run a marathon. Haha.

As I mentioned before, I did not run a marathon this year though. However, I did cover a distance of about 42.2 km in two instalments namely, Army Half Marathon (AHM) on 27 August 2006 and Standard Chartered Singapore Half Marathon 2006 on 3 Dec 2006. Received two medals after the run and here are the medals:

2006 is coming to an end soon. As the whole world welcomes 2007 next month, I will like to make a resolution for 2007 - To run a full marathon of 42.195km. =)

Friday Reflections

This week has been a busy week for me. Actually, it has always been for the past eight weeks. Every week is eventful. So many things happening and new challenges posed. This evening, my week ended with KFC. Some leftovers from my department Fridays afternoon tea.

It is Friday night again and this is the night I feel the most relaxed for basically tomorrow is Saturday. Since I started working, Saturday becomes the day where I will do my preparation for BS and cell meetings. Not too good because it is a bit rush. Sometimes, I have to squeeze in worship preparation as well. Doing everything yourself can be tiring and weary. At some moments, I do feel where is everyone when I needed help?

Weekend is very precious. I agree to this statement fully now. Throughout the week, I have been busy with work. Everyday knocking off just to go home to sleep for a few hours before waking up again to go to work. It is like a routine cycle. Waking up at 6am every morning to take my breakfast and then do my quiet time. Sometimes, even play some songs before I rush to bath and catch my bus at 7.33am to go to company. Yes, 7.33am, the bus is so punctual everyday.

Coming to a weekend, it is also work. Preparing for bible study, cell and coordinating the worship. Doing my best only to know that actually few will be coming for the things I prepared. However, it has also became a routine to me that few will attend the meetings but I still want to carry on with this work. This is one responsibility which I have taken up and I have to see to its completion. The shepherding role.

I was reading Psalm 130 during lunch hour today. Felt ministered by it and decided to share here:

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

Just reflecting. 1 December is over. =)

IKEA Opens Today

Today, IKEA Tampines opens and to join in the mad rush to see the new IKEA, my whole department drove there during lunch hour. Haha, in the end, we found out that it was indeed a mad rush just to see the crowd. The whole IKEA is too crowded and even to eat at its cafe or restaurant, you got to queue in that long 'snake'.

Eventually, we drove back to eat at our company canteen.

Not too bad.

Got beef burger to eat leh...

hahahahahaha... so funny.

This has to be the joke of the week!

Struggles

Currently, struggling in my job. Realised that I got many things to learn, knowledge to gain and tasks to complete. Lagging behind and many times in my job, I am doing "fire-fighting".

Need to continue to trust in God and His word to see me through everyday of my work.

Time passes really very fast and tomorrow will be Thursday?!

Press on, Endure and may God see me through all things by granting me perseverance and strength.

Trust in the LORD

I searched this phase, "Trust in the LORD" using Biblegateway search engine and found 61 verses pertaining to this phase. 信主

No magic number but just trusting in the LORD in all things. =)

When the Stress Level is HIGH...

Go take a rest... sleeping is still the best cure. Trust me... =)

(1 Kings 19)

A Busy Weekend For Me

This weekend has been quite busy for me. For yesterday, I have to attend two church wedding ceremonies and one wedding dinner. Need to be out of my house for the whole day. Saw to the logistics and traffic control matters for my Bible Study Leader’s wedding in my church and then rushed down to attend one of my NTU brother in Christ’s wedding at another church. This brother is also my Bible Study Leader’s long lost secondary ECA friend. Wow, small world.

It is indeed a great joy to know that both of them are entering into a new phase of their lives and not alone (of course!) but with their respective beloved life partners. Congratulations! May our dear God bless both couples to have a blissful marriage in the many, many, many, many years to come. Praise the Lord for instituting marriage as a grand rehearsal for our marriage to Him in eternity. Praise Him for joining males and females together spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. Praise Him for teaching and training us about what is true, self-sacrificial and unconditional love through marriage. Thank God for giving us His amazing marriage gift too. =)

God is right indeed when He says that it is not good for the man to be alone. Man definitely needs a helper. It is great to know that every woman is created beautifully for her husband alone. Who else to thank but God and God alone? Adam must have been very attracted to Eve when God brought her to him. Amazing!

I will like to continue to pray for the both couples who got married on the same day – 18 November 2006. Let’s be praying together for them and be thanking God for His gift of marriage, shall we?

A Simple Song, A Simple Blessing.

Everybody knows about "The Happy Birthday Song". I have found out some background about this song and posted it here. This is indeed a simple song with a simple blessing. Enjoy... =)

About the Songwriters: The "Happy Birthday" song was written in the late nineteenth century by two sisters from Kentucky, Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill. Patty was a nursery school teacher, while Mildred was a composer and pianist.

About the Song: Mildred was the sister who came up with the simply eight-note melody for "Happy Birthday", after which sister Patty added the lyrics. Originally sung "Good Morning to You, Good Morning to You, Good Morning Dear Children, Good Morning to All", the song was written as a greeting to be sung to students each day. It is unclear as to when the lyrics were changed, but by 1924 the new version of the song had appeared in print.

About the Tab: "Happy Birthday" is a simple three chord song, written in "waltz time" (3/4 time). Strum each chord three times, with one exception (see tab for details). As the song is so short, you might want to repeat it several times. As finding a good key to sing "Happy Birthday" in can be tricky, tab has been provided for playing the song in both the key of D and the key of G.

How to play the song leh? Here are the chords! So exciting, right? haha.

Gotten all this information from http://guitar.about.com/od/tabchordslyrics/p/birthdaysongtab.htm

Giving thanks to God

I thank God for bringing a brother into my midst to teach and guide me in playing the guitar. It has been great to be able to play the instrument after five years. Finally, I can play some worship songs “decently”. (haha, that is if you think I can play well)

My classical guitar (my one and only guitar) was bought from a brother in Christ, Teh whom I have known in my army camp. At that time, he was encouraging me to learn guitar. Even my current pick is given by him. He is a great brother and I remembered him well because he was the first person to bring me to the camp’s cookhouse at that time when I first reported to the unit.

As of now, I have lost contact with him. During our army days, he was down with leukemia and was on long mc even till he ORD. Subsequently, I visited him at his place a few times and I was even preparing to cook some claypot chicken rice for him. That was also the period when I bought his guitar from him. However since 2004, I have been unable to contact him. His mobile line was unsubscribed. He did mention to me once that he would never unsubscribe his line.

I wonder how is he now?

The last sms which I received from him was on my birthday in 2004 where he wrote:

Soh, wanna wish u a happy birthday today. how have u been man? Remember the treat u own me, hahaha… when u treating me huh? :)

God, is Teh with you safely now?

FrIeNdS ^.^V

Everyone needs a friend. For me, I need at least one. Someone to talk to when I face problems in life. Someone to treat me coffee sometimes. Someone to lend a listening ear to me. No man is an island, ya?

I have many friends but not all are kept in constant contact. Some of them are my primary school friends. They are already under the L.i.C group. Some are my secondary school, T.K.D, poly and NTU friends. Okay, they are under S.i.C group. Some are army friends. Greatest buddies whom we K.K.K together. Haha, they are under C.i.C group. The rest are my church friends whom are under A.i.C group. Great! Lots of friends but not for putting them under my Friendster account only. I do want to be in constant touch with them. Still got one last group which is the G.T.B.K.i.C. My colleagues. =)

How to keep in contact with friends? For me, I will sms them. Any smses will do. Can be encouraging ones, inspiring ones, silly ones, crappy ones, disturbing ones, chatting ones, etc. So if recently you have just received one of my smses, maybe take note that I am trying to K.i.C with you. Sometimes when I am bored, I will think of creative smses to send out.

There is one very important Friend in my life. Someone whom I always talk to when I faced problems in life. Someone whom will always lend His listening ear to me. He is my God. From 21 Oct 2001, I have acknowledged Him as my Friend. He has never left me since and in constant in touch with me. He has seen me through all things.

Do not feel guilty when you think that you have not lived out a good testimony for this Friend. Because He has never blamed you at all. He knew your heart and character. He does not want you to live in guilt. He wants you to be free. That’s why He is here today to show you the way back to Him and to free your chains. He took the initiative. He has shown by His actions not just His words. He has done His part as your Friend.

All He asks of you is whether you are willing to accept His Friendship. The answer can only be a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’. Check your heart today. If you are ready, put Him under your A.i.C group, ya?

Some acronyms for this entry:

L.i.C ~ Lost in Contact
T.K.D ~ Tae Kwon Do
S.i.C ~ Still in Contact
K.K.K ~ Keng & Keng & Keng
C.i.C ~ Constant in Contact
A.i.C ~ Always in Contact
G.T.B.K.i.C (This is a hard one!) ~ Going To Be Kept in Contact

一个礼拜的结束

一个礼拜就这么地过去了。
我真正要学习的是如何建立良好的人际关系。
这也是我能在公司传福音的第一步!

Mark of the Beast

Have you heard of this term, "Mark of the Beast"?

If you have not, feel free to click on this link: 666

Read to find out, Ask to learn, Respond with Action. =)

迎接星期一

我的星期一永远是白色的。
因为它是每个新工作周的开始嘛，所以对我而言它像一张白纸，是白色的。

明天就是星期一了。
就让我收拾心情回到工作岗位继续地为我的公司奋斗吧!

志胜，加油!!!

Message of the Bible

Do you want to know what is the one thing that stands out throughout the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation? What is the main message of the Bible? I will like to answer the first question with "The Attributes of God". That is the one thing that stands out throughout the entire Bible. The main message of the Bible is as shown in the figure above.

Before we discussed the figure, let us take some time to look through some of the verses in the Bible. We will only be looking at two books of the Bible namely, Genesis and Revelation.

Brothers and Sisters, look through these verses yourself and hear the message of God from His very Words. We can see from the figure that in the beginning, God is with Adam and Eve and together they are in the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life. No sin is present. Adam and Eve are in perfect relationship with God. Sin enters in Genesis 3 and thereby man is corrupted by Satan and goes through a period with the presence of Sin. We can see this whole period is even right till today.

Then, there will be a period of seven years of tribulations. After that, Christ will come back again and rule the earth with all the Saints who are the Christians for one thousand years. Next, Satan will be released from captivity after the one thousand years to deceive the world before he is thrown into the lake of fire to be eternally destroyed. Eventually, eternity will kick in!

Is it exciting to know that God is the one who is always in control and He is the author of this amazing message? He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. And if you have realized, the beginning and the ending in the figure is the SAME.

How will you respond to this God who has already planned the great future of your soul? I know that I will be seeing His face again and fellowship with Him in eternity.

Will you like to join me?

God alone is my BOSS

My Work Principle

God is KING!

邪不能胜正。

A Week Well Spent

Learnt a lot, Experienced some.
Open Mind, Open Eyes... (yes, open eyes... very impt)

Mind Like a Sponge

AbSoRb, AbSoRb, AbSoRb...

Work for Needs, not for Wants

忙忙碌碌，只为生活一口饭。

Tomorrow “KUI GANG”

New chapter. New beginning. New challenges ahead.

Yes, I will be officially entering the workforce tomorrow. Things will definitely be changed somehow and I have to also adapt to these new changes, new people and new surroundings. I do not know how long will I need to adapt to my new life. The only practical thing which I can do and you can also do for me is to pray to our Lord and Father. The God of this universe. Although sad to say, many still do not know Him today.

Okay, let me make myself clear first right from the start. In this blog, I will never, never and yes, never write any entries regarding my work. It will be CONFIDENTIAL. Something like IMF in MI:III. Impossible Mission Force. All things are not to be revealed. Hence, do not ask me in this blog how is my work, okay? Thanks.

As I enter the workforce, please continue to pray for me in terms of relationships building with my superiors and colleagues. This is very important and crucial to me. Let me take up the role of a cultivator and prepare all my colleagues to trust me as a Christian.

091006 will always be a special date in my heart. Haha, at least that is the date of release for me documented down in my COS. Sisters, you can always feel free to sms me to ask me what is COS. And fellow brothers, yes you got it there. It is definitely not Company Orderly Sergeant. Haha! =)

My ORD gifts

The soccer clock on the left is given to me by my RQ while the MicroBank is given to me by my CQ. Thank you, Abba Father! Why? Because He has reminded me through my two superiors that I must be a good steward of the time and money that He has provided for me. =)

ORD or ROD?

Whatever it is, I am happy that I am granted the opportunity to serve my nation. Be it 2 years 4 months or 2 years only, I have served with pride. I am really glad that I have resumed my role as a civilian as of today. Glad not because I have finally finished my ‘ordeal’ with army but glad because I have concluded and done my part for the nation as I obeyed my call of duty to the Republic. I feel a sense of pride as I received my certificate of service together with that coveted sticker on my SAF 11B indicating that I am now officially a NSman.

ORD or ROD? To me, it really doesn’t matter much. In fact, I will be really happy if I only ORDed. This is because I will get to wear my No. 4 again and do my part to serve the nation again. This is so exciting. However, if I really RODed, I will just have to admit that it is all due to my shortcoming and I don’t blame anyone. All in all, if I am given the chance to serve my nation again, I will definitely do my best again.

2 years 4 months passed by in a flash. It seems like yesterday when I have gotten my new SAF 11B at BMTC School and today I have ORDed from army. It is really fast. Plus I was disrupted for three years for my studies before resuming my service again in late May this year. This last four months of my service is very memorable just like the previous two years when I was with my unit. In totality, I have learnt the importance of healthy working relationships with my colleagues and I must really continue this fostering of healthy working relationships as I enter the workforce starting next Monday.

Felt quite reluctant to leave my camp this evening. I did spent some two years plus in this camp and the sudden feeling of leaving it for good is quite sad. She has became like a good old friend to me and my permanent departure from her can really rekindle some fond memories that will forever be remembered in my mind even after many years.

National Service to me is not really a waste of time. In fact, I do feel that it is preparing me to face the real world outside. Although the society in the camp cannot really foreshadow what the society is really like in the outside world, it does give you a foretaste of what it is like to work with the different people from different race and background. One of my professors did ask my graduating cohort in NTU, “Are you ready for the world?” Today, I can answer him that I am ready for the world only after National Service.

This is the end of my national service journey. I can indeed identify with Paul in 2 Timothy 4: 6-7, “… the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

National Service is over but this is just one small chapter in my entire life and if counted against eternity, it is nothing but just a drop of water in a full bucket. Let me continue the race for God and prove to Him that I am His good and faithful servant. Thank God for seeing me through everything. AMEN!

Patience, my friend, PATIENCE

Throughout this week, I just have to be patient. Patient with time. I have to be patient in waiting for my collection of my pink IC. Patience. Imagine I have to wait for one full week before getting it and resuming my role as a civilian. Patience. God is always there to train me in my patience. A good example is He would make sure that I will be waiting for the person I want to meet. Be it five minutes or an hour. I will be there waiting.

Of course, patience has other issues to be dealt with besides our time. Patience with people is also one area which I have to be trained by God. Oh yes, I will need a lot of this patience with people when I go out to work. How can I really be patient with people when I feel that people is always getting on my nerves? This will definitely takes much effort on my part. God, I will want to go that extra mile to be show patience to people. Give me the courage to do so.

Many times, when God wants to train you in something, He will purposely put you in that particular situation. For example, if He wants to train you in controlling your temper, He will definitely put you in situations where you will be really angry. Therefore, I know that if I want to develop patience, I will have to do one thing and that is to wait.

This whole week, I am waiting for my ORD. Tonight will be my last night till I ORD. Resuming my role as a civilian. Will I be able to give up all my army lingo? Will I stop behaving like a childish soldier?

就让我们拭目以待吧。

The 3 Dec 2006 Challenge

It is exactly two months away from my half-marathon run. I pray that I can complete this run with minimal walking. See you guys at the run if you are going, okay? =)

2nd Day of Rest

正所谓休息是为了要走更远的路，我现在步入我第二天的休息。

真要好好地休息一番。不然，我一定会后悔的。哈哈。。。

A Day of Little Breakthrough

Today is a day of little breakthrough for me as I practiced my guitar. Can you please pray for me so that God can give me wisdom, understanding and confidence in playing this instrument well?

I hope to be able to play well enough in order to lead in worship for cell group. My focus at the current moment will be really upon the cell and I pray to God that all my hard work and efforts will not go to waste.

It's 1 October!

Oh yes, October is here!

Had a great weekend and it was very fruitful indeed. Just yesterday, met up with three of my church mates and we went for a morning cycling trip. Can't believe that we actually cycled from Bishan to Esplanade. That was like very amazing. To add on for the bonus, I actually cycled from Sengkang to Bishan to meet up with them. Almost died man. =)

And after our cycling trip, I had to cycle back to church for my weekly tuition project. Upon finishing the tuition, I had to cycle back to my home in Sengkang. It was a whole day affair with cycling. Not calling it a day yet, I have to lead worship and word at cell. Wow, how did i manage it?

Cycling trip photos can be viewed and downloaded at: http://picasaweb.google.com/edsoh98/CyclingTrip30Sep2006Sat

Today is Children's Day and I spent the evening with my parents at Chinatown shopping. Enjoyed the fellowship with them and it is a joy to see my parents holding hands. Thank God for everything.

Sengkang to Bishan to Esplanade

Well, this is what happened to me after I cycled from Sengkang to Bishan to Esplanade. Knocking out at the Singapore River side. Tell you more in my next entry...

"So when are you buying a car?"

This was one question which was posed to me during my gathering with old army friends. My response, "huh? I haven't even start working yet lor and you all want me to carry this financial burden straightaway? And besides, I have absolutely zero knowledge about cars although I got a driving license since 1999."

Oh yes, my driving license is and still collecting dust at home. I have never brought it out since the day that I was "banned" from riding. Furthermore, I have given up all my plans to upgrade it and so there it is in my drawer collecting dust.

Buying cars? haha, think I don't need at the moment lah. My future workplace is quite near my house. It is probably just about 20 min bus ride away so why should I buy one? In addition, buying one is easy but supporting one is a burden. Why don't I just use all the money for supporting God's ministries and my family instead? There was a comment by one of my army friends that he would rather spend all his money on his girl then on a car. Hmm, quite true. hehe.

Learnt something from God during quiet time today. The passage which I was reading through was Luke 16:19-31. If you do not have a bible with you, here is what it says:

The Rich Man and Lazarus "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

This passage is not actually saying that all rich people will definitely go to hell. It is actually telling us to treasure only the things which matters. A car does not really matter in life. What really matters to us is the Word of God. That is the Bible. As a matter of fact, the Bible is about 3506 years old. If you are into antiques, you may be most glad to take possession of this super antique thing. However, it is not for you to auction it but to obey it with all your hearts. God is really looking into my heart. The Word of God is here with me. What matters is, "Am I always ready to obey it with all my heart?"

If you have noticed, the passage ended with a warning. That is if you do not listen to Moses and the Prophets (which literally means the Old Testament or the Scriptures or the Word of God), you will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Christ Himself has been risen from the dead but there are still people who are not convinced. There can be only one reason for it - You need to listen to the Word of God.

Goal

What is a goal?

• noun 1 (in soccer, rugby, etc.) a pair of posts linked by a crossbar and forming a space into or over which the ball has to be sent to score. 2 an instance of sending the ball into or over a goal. 3 an aim or desired result. (AskOxford)

When my friend is asked recently what is his goal in life, he thought for a while and then shakes his head to tell us that he does not know what his goal is. He does not know what does he want to do in life. Then, my friend starting to probe him further by asking him what does he like besides women, money and cars. He still does not know.

My goal in life? For me, it is to be an engineer. I have aspired to be an engineer since my secondary school days. I remembered that when I was still in secondary one, my classmate (sorry, not Albert. I got other classmates besides him, ok? haha) questioned me about my ambition. At that time, I replied plainly that I want to be an engineer. I want to be an useful person and in my view, engineers are very useful people because they make our lives easier by making useful things. Without engineers, you may even have difficult finding a place to rest and live. haha, a bit exaggerating lah.

When I reached secondary two, I realised that there are many different types of engineers. Therefore, I started to think carefully which type of engineers do I want to be. Eventually, you all know the answer right, I went into Electronics. I feel that at least I like logic gates (they look logical to me) and I said to myself, "Why not?" Today, I am an electronic engineer. Okay, not yet but soon to be in another eleven days or so. This is my aim. This is my desired result.

Just like there are many different types of engineers, there are many different type of goals. As of today or rather about five years ago, I have reached another goal in my life. What is it? It is found in 1 Peter 1:8-9.

Though I have not seen Jesus, I love him; and even though I do not see him now, I believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for I am receiving the goal of my faith, the salvation of my soul. (verses modified for personal application)

Just like I am glad to have reached my goal of becoming an engineer, I am glad to know that I am receiving the goal of my faith which is the salvation of my soul. Developing a relationship with Jesus to me takes time. Right from the beginning, it is relational. If you have not realised, we are all in relationships. Be in BGR (I know you may be thinking of this straightaway), family, friends, bosses, colleagues or classmates. It is all relational. The same is with befriending Jesus.

I feel honoured to know a truest and dearest Friend who has guided and taught me many things in life. =)