Hampton, VA - May 20 to 25, 2009

Other Photos Taken in both Virginia and Washington D.C.

Virginia Beach, VA

Shenondoah National Park - Skyline Dr

The White House in Washington, D.C.

My humble VA rental car - Toyota Matrix 2009

Visiting Virginia...

Picture taken from Wikipedia Link

Pls help to pray for my safety as I will be visiting Virginia to attend a brother's wedding. Thanks.

Isaiah 44:6-23

The LORD, Not Idols

 ⁶ "This is what the LORD says— 
       Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: 
       I am the first and I am the last; 
       apart from me there is no God.

 ⁷ Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. 
       Let him declare and lay out before me 
       what has happened since I established my ancient people, 
       and what is yet to come— 
       yes, let him foretell what will come.

 ⁸ Do not tremble, do not be afraid. 
       Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? 
       You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? 
       No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

 ⁹ All who make idols are nothing, 
       and the things they treasure are worthless. 
       Those who would speak up for them are blind; 
       they are ignorant, to their own shame.

 ¹⁰ Who shapes a god and casts an idol, 
       which can profit him nothing?

 ¹¹ He and his kind will be put to shame; 
       craftsmen are nothing but men. 
       Let them all come together and take their stand; 
       they will be brought down to terror and infamy.

 ¹² The blacksmith takes a tool 
       and works with it in the coals; 
       he shapes an idol with hammers, 
       he forges it with the might of his arm. 
       He gets hungry and loses his strength; 
       he drinks no water and grows faint.

 ¹³ The carpenter measures with a line 
       and makes an outline with a marker; 
       he roughs it out with chisels 
       and marks it with compasses. 
       He shapes it in the form of man, 
       of man in all his glory, 
       that it may dwell in a shrine.

 ¹⁴ He cut down cedars, 
       or perhaps took a cypress or oak. 
       He let it grow among the trees of the forest, 
       or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

 ¹⁵ It is man's fuel for burning; 
       some of it he takes and warms himself, 
       he kindles a fire and bakes bread. 
       But he also fashions a god and worships it; 
       he makes an idol and bows down to it.

 ¹⁶ Half of the wood he burns in the fire; 
       over it he prepares his meal, 
       he roasts his meat and eats his fill. 
       He also warms himself and says, 
       "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."

 ¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol; 
       he bows down to it and worships. 
       He prays to it and says, 
       "Save me; you are my god."

 ¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand nothing; 
       their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, 
       and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

 ¹⁹ No one stops to think, 
       no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, 
       "Half of it I used for fuel; 
       I even baked bread over its coals, 
       I roasted meat and I ate. 
       Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? 
       Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"

 ²⁰ He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; 
       he cannot save himself, or say, 
       "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

 ²¹ "Remember these things, O Jacob, 
       for you are my servant, O Israel. 
       I have made you, you are my servant; 
       O Israel, I will not forget you.

 ²² I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, 
       your sins like the morning mist. 
       Return to me, 
       for I have redeemed you."

 ²³ Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; 
       shout aloud, O earth beneath. 
       Burst into song, you mountains, 
       you forests and all your trees, 
       for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, 
       he displays his glory in Israel.

i am sorry, my LORD

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." - Revelation 21:1-4

I look forward to the day where my LORD, Jesus will wipe every tear from my eyes...

Knowing The Eagles

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles

Eagles Official Website: http://www.eaglesband.com/

Eagles Concert in UT

if i repaint my car...

金庸小说

Understanding Wine

Wine Lovers' Page.com

Learning Snowboarding...

Had a hard fall on the back of my head again (1st time was when I was skiing) and so planned to read up more on this sport. A great link which I found online.

The Simplicity of the Good News

The Gospel is also the Good News. Why this news is GOOD when all the other news in this world is always bad? The saying is always, ‘No News is Good News’.

To answer this question, we can only look to the bible:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ~1 Corinthians 15:3-9~

Dear friends, this is the Good News, this is the Gospel.

It is this simple.

We being created in God’s image has sinned and fallen away from Him. He desires us now to be reconciled back to him and therefore, he sent his Son to point us back to Him, to endure the most violent execution in history in order to purify us of our sins and to intercede at the right hand of God for us today.

God resurrected Christ to give His approval for the work of the Cross so today Christians can boldly declare that the grave is empty and because He lives, they can face tomorrow. They are crucified with Christ and living for Him everyday…

The Gospel is easy to understand but difficult to live it out. As a child of God, I still need to work my spiritual life out with fear and trembling. Please pray for me in my spiritual journey with Christ. Thanks.

A Birthday Card ...

A Motorbike...

A 'PTO' which is important...

Greetings and Concerns from my Singapore church family...

Thanks... (",)

April 5 Happenings in UT

Cards & Gifts from my church family...

Card from my family all the way back in Singapore...

Birthday or not birthday, the day ends as usual with the sun on the WEST.

Just one more day in Utah and one more day closer to seeing my LORD!

What's Good About A Recession?

A message which I heard today during Saturday evening service at South Mountain Community Church. Personally, I learnt something from the four ground rules when I questioned God on why must certain things happened in my life. Enjoy the sermon notes. =)

By Pastor Paul Robile – April 04 – 05, 2009

Ground Rules for discussing “why?” to anything in our lives.

1. God is SOVEREIGN over all things = He either causes or allows all things = Everything has a PURPOSE. [Proverbs 19:21 & Psalms 33:10 & Isaiah 46:10]

2. All of God’s purposes are GOOD. [Luke 18:19]

3. God has the RIGHT to do whatever He deems best. [Job 38:1-2; 40:1-5]

4. We can’t know ALL the reasons why God does what He does.

Four Good Reasons For a Recession

Reason #1: It exposes HIDDEN sin. [Job 1:1; 42:5-6]

When God shakes us it can expose our sin of SELF-RELIANCE. [1 Corinthians 1:8-9]

When God shakes us it can reveal the sin of COVETOUSNESS. [1 Timothy 6:10]

“Covetousness” = When we locate our joy in our GOODS rather than God’s GRACE. [2 Corinthians 8:1-2]

“Covetousness” = When we place our TRUST in our money rather than God’s mercy. [Acts 4:34]

When God shakes the economy it serves to reveal the DECEIT and GREED that was formerly hidden.

Reason #2: It helps to WAKE US UP to the plight of the developing world. [Hebrews 13:3]

Reason #3: It helps us not live RANDOM lives. [2 Thessalonians 1:11]

Reason #4: It helps us to face our FEARS. [1 Peter 3:14]

Note: God advances His work again and again when it looks the least possible.

Final Thoughts
God has given me all that’s NECESSARY in order for me to accomplish all that He has for me to do.

Are you a Sheep or a Goat?

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)
The Sheep and the Goats

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

This passage which is taken from the bible is a parable given by Jesus who is the Son of Man ["In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. ~Daniel 7:13-14] and also the Son of God ["All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ~Matthew 11:27]

Jesus is the Shepherd who will leave His ninety-nine sheep in the open country and go after the one lost sheep who went astray. [Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. ~Luke 15:3-7]

The key question which I will like to ask you who are reading this blog entry now: Are you that one lost sheep which He is searching for?

Jesus is searching for you, my friend.

Nobody in this world is a goat who is to be put on His left. [The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ~2 Peter 3:9]

Remember that all of us are sinners in His Sight. [for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ~Romans 3:23] All of us are GOATS in the beginning. We DESERVED to be put on His left. YES, ALL OF US!

However, my friend, that is not the case today since that day when Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for ALL OF US. He did not merely die to redeem the Christians. He died to redeem ALL OF US. He is the Shepherd while we are His sheep.

And hence, Paul continued on to write verses 24 to 26 after he penned down Romans 3:23. [and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. ~Romans 3:24-26]

Grace through faith is the key thing to be a sheep for Jesus. God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense [G.R.A.C.E] is given freely through the blood of the unblemished Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ Himself. Do you know the Blood Bank motto – “Give Blood, Give Life”? Jesus Christ gave His Blood to bring us to live the Eternal Life which God has prepared for all of us.

To call one a Christian is to declare – Christ, I Am Nothing [C.H.R.I.S.T.I.A.N]. We are now related to Christ Jesus as sheep are related to the Shepherd. As Jesus calls God His Father, we are also adopted as sons of God [he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will ~ Ephesians 1:5]

This is the reason Christians call each other Brothers and Sisters because all of them belong to the same family of God. When you are a Christian, you are connected to the Universal church of believers. This simply means that wherever you go, you have a family somewhere. Isn’t this just wonderful?

So, are you a sheep or a goat today?

April's Fool Snow - no joke!

April 1 - SNOW

April 5 - SUNSHINE

That is how the weather in UT is - CRAZY

The United States of America

Let us wait patiently for the release of the 5 new circulating quarters in 2009:

A good link to the History of the Quarter.

"We live in Singapura"

A Great Song by Hossan Leong

A Different Tune, A Different Feel

The fall of snow just before Spring tonight has brought back fond and sad memories to my mind... Enjoy this video.

Ski Novice

Confessions

I wonder if one loses someone whom is very dear to him / her, how does he / she look to God and focus on Him to find himself / herself back to face the reality

A man lost his father whom is a pastor when he was three years old. His mum has to work very hard to support him. Even coming from a Christian family, he cannot help but blame God for taking his dad away in the years of growing up.

“So what if my dad reads the bible at least three times a day? So what if my dad preaches to a congregation of 10 000 people and helps to save souls for Christ daily?” “So what if I do have God as my heavenly father? Stop telling me that! I just want to have a similar loving physical father as well.”

His dad is still dead today. Friends around him have fathers to drive them to schools but he is left alone and does not have even a godly fatherly figure to grow up or model after. His mum having taken over the role of the only breadwinner in the house is constantly away from home working. The event of losing his dad from young has caused turmoil in his life. He finds it hard to focus on Christ even though he does acknowledge that Jesus is the ONLY ONE TRUE HOLY GOD.

Well, I am not this man. I have merely lost a friend whom at that point in time is still not even a close friend of mine. She is just someone whom I have admired and hoped to know her better as a friend. She is also not a believer so going into a life-long relationship with her is simply not possible at all. However, I do not know why God allows her to be taken away at such a young age and furthermore when she still have zero knowledge of Christ. Why? The following day of her death, I was sobbing quietly in my house.

The months following her death were also the months that I rebelled against God for many actions done to hurt Him. As a matter of fact, I reacted in that exact same manner as the man who has lost his father at a tender age. “Stop telling me that God is by my side, ok? Stop telling me facts which me as a Christian already know?!” I simply was sad and emotional when friends of mine reminded that God is constantly with me.

Words of fury can be seen on the msn message windows.

“If you said that God is constantly with me, what is wrong with me eating alone everyday? What is wrong with me not going out to make new friends? You told me God is with me, so why do I even need friends?”

With all these non-loving comments, I have not spoken to many of my Singapore church friends anymore. I will just like to take this chance to apologize to all whom I have offended with my above comments.

Life is indeed all about relationships and relationships certainly surpasses all the cash and materialistic things which you can ever acquire in your lifetime. In my search for a life-long partner, I too longed for such a relationship. However, it seems to elude from me time and time again. Not because I am not intentional enough but I guess if all is not God’s will for me; I will have to learn how to accept the life of celibacy by His grace alone.

Friends of mine, I will like to ask that all of you to stop probing me on BGR issues anymore. With this confession, I will like to truly learn how to submit to God’s will for me in this area. Even if in future I may not be coming back to Singapore ever again, I do pray and hope that I can still hold on to God’s Truth and live out my life as a true blue believer in Christ, experiencing His love and leaning on to His grace in life.

May God bless all of you. Amen.

Seasons

Spring

Plants begin to flower

Clocks are put foward one hour

More daylight hours and the weather becomes warmer

Summer

Hot, dry weather

Long hours of daylight

People often go the the beaches and have barbeques

Autumn

Leaves fall off trees

Clocks are put back one hour

Weather becomes cooler with fewer daylight hours

Winter

Cold, wet weather

Short hours of daylight

Activities include skiing, ice skating and building snowman