July The Twelve

It has been a tiring Sunday..
Some of us who went for Copa Iba came back with tired bodies, aches, and sore throat..

And there was also the ride to the airport for a certain farewell and welcoming back..

And yet, we were able to brave through all these to catch an event that should never be missed - the World Cup Final!!



So.. for those who do not already know, there have been 2 huge stars at this year's FIFA World Cup - namely Spain and Paul the octopus


Prior to the Final, Paul the octopus (who has been used as an animal oracle to predict football results) has wisely chosen Spain over Holland to lift this year's World Cup trophy..
The Dutch would've imagined the worst as Paul has almost been 100% correct coming into the Final..


Paul the oracle octopus
















Holland then had to come out with an extraordinary strategy to prove to the world that Paul can sometimes be wrong..

It wasn't gonna be a very pleasant strategy and for those of you expecting a friendly match, boy were you wrong!


Pictures from the Final match between Spain and Holland (courtesy of SkySports.com and ESPN Soccernet)














But Spain (somewhat fortunately) did not crumble into the dirty tactics of the Dutch, and eventually emerged victorious!

Congratulations to the World Champions - SPAIN

Sing-A-Pore

Here we come..

The Wedding Gift

I can hear the wedding bells ringing now..

The time has come.. it has come indeed..

OK

Let's now assume there's a wedding coming really soon..
Not hard to imagine anyway since there IS actually one coming really soon..

No no, if it's mine I would've told you long ago..

So yes.. back to the imagination..

A wedding's coming really soon..

A wedding of two friends..

A wedding that will make them both become one..



So.....


The guests list is up..

The gowns and dresses are ready..

The musicians have all been called upon..

The pastor has prepared his message..

The church is where it's supposed to be..

The decos are in place..

The zhi muis and heng tais.. let's not talk about the zhi muis and heng tais.. zhi muis are scary..


So, in short, let's assume everything's in place..

What's left?


Of course.. you've guessed it right

The WEDDING GIFT!!


So now, calling all EEFC College CG people..
You've gotta help to decide what should we get Jason and Ruth for their wedding..

Please check this link (Ruth's blog) for suggested items which are still available (not booked by anyone yet)..

http://tissuegirl.blogspot.com/2010/03/updated-wedding-gift-list.html

Will probably ask you all again during CG.. so check out the site and be ready to give your suggestions ya..

ZHANK YOU!!! :)





And to the bride-and-bridegroom-to-be --> Jason and Ruth

May you have a great wedding and a blessed marriage ahead.. :)

Looking forward to the day you both tie the knot.. :)

God bless!

We Stand Forgiven At The Cross

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood

This, the pow'r of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Ev'ry bitter thought
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow

This, the pow'r of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Now the daylight flees
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head
Curtain torn in two
Dead are raised to life
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry

This, the pow'r of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds
For through Your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love

This, the pow'r of the cross
Son of God—slain for us
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross

LOL

Ego 1-0 JTan

JTan has a friend.
His name is Ego.
He's not a very good friend.

JTan admits.. today, he let Ego control him.
Bad, bad Ego.
And bad, bad JTan for allowing Ego to control him.

So what happened?

It all started with a missed turning.
First, JTan's lousy driving caused him to be on the wrong lane - wanted to take a right turn (which would've made our lives easier) but had to go straight since the traffic lights were green for straight and red for right.
Well, "It's alright," JTan thought, "there's another road which leads back to the road we wanna be on."
So everything settled? Mission accomplished? Back on the same road?
No. JTan just had to miss that particular "road which leads back to the road we wanna be on."
*tries to hide embarrassed face*

Well, "No worries," JTan thought again, "this road we're now on seems to be heading towards another road which will eventually lead us back to the road we wanna be on."
YM gave a good suggestion to make a U-turn.
But Ego came into play. Ego suggested that JTan was correct and had good reasons to believe he was right. Well, at that time, neither Ego nor JTan realised that Kampung Pandan is actually NOT Pandan Indah.
So did JTan take YM's advise? Obviously not.

After about 5 minutes, JTan finally realised his mistake.
*tries to hide embarrassed face again*
It's a bit too far to U-turn now. JTan was thinking hard, "Where in the world does this road leads to?" And after passing by the Rain Tree Club, he thought, "Hey, this road actually leads to another road which will also eventually lead us back to the road we wanna be on. Woohoo!"
He had a feeling that he was supposed to turn left. But took a right, he did instead. And once again, Ego told JTan that he's right. There's no need to call for help from others or ask them for advise. Moreover, JTan's sense of direction was supposed to be quite good. So he thought.

After another few minutes, MK called. At the same time, JTan kinda realised he made another judgement error once again.
*wah, really no face to hide this time*
MK suggested another route - which will lead back to "the road we wanna be on." - a way faster route but involves the toll.. a price to pay for letting Ego win.
AL made a brilliant request by asking HY to take the lead this time.
*paiseh.. JTan really, really has got no more face to hide*

In short, we got to our destination in time.
But we could've reached way earlier if JTan hadn't allowed Ego influence him.

So what has JTan learned today?

Maybe God was trying to teach him something today.

It is important to have a teachable heart.
When one is stubborn and self-centred, it's a bit difficult to have a heart that's humbled enough to be taught and corrected.
There should be less of ourselves and more of God.
May He help JTan to develop a humble and teachable heart, ever ready to admit his mistakes and be corrected.

Anyway, God is good.
We reached there in time, the rain stopped, we were all able to run, and 3 guys from our group won a medal each.
Hope everyone had fun :)


*edited*


A friend commented that there's another lesson that JTan can learn from this - should have listened to women's direction advise. I think JTan would hate to admit it, but the 2 ladies who were in his car ystday had better signs of direction than him.
*tries to hide face once again*
Aside from YM's earlier advise, JN was practically leading JTan through KL - and should I add that she's not from KL?

Epic fail.

JTan said that he would like to apologise to all guys if he has let you down.

Malaysia : Whose God?

When Will This End?

After the attack on an 11th place of worship?
After the breaking in of the office of the lawyers representing the Herald in the "Allah" issue?

Doubt it will end so soon.. the numbers of churches and other worship places being attacked are increasing, and those in authority are still trying to divert the attention somewhere else (Anwar, Dr. M's book, etc. .. gosh, do they really think it will work?)

I can't help but feel frustrated over all that's been happening

Does Hisham still thinks that everything is under control?
Well if things are going as they've exactly planned it to be, then yes, things are very much in their control... Did they cause all this? Did they initiate it? Were they the ones who stirred things up? Were they the ones giving the green light to all the attacks? I don't know... but it's funny to see how things like this always come to light each time that particular political party is in trouble. You be the judge.

How will all these end?

Giving in and drop the "Allah" case?
Trust me, this will not end it. It will be the one case that will lead to many more to come.
Plus are we going to take God's Name so lightly that we'll allow others to govern how we can call our Lord?

Some have called for fellow Christians to act lovingly and let them win. Will letting them win actually be an act of love? Have we lost the point here?.. it's not about winning or losing.. don't we realise the implications if they were to ban the word from being used by those of other religions?
It not only affects us Christians, even more so to our brothers and sisters in East Malaysia, but also affect other religions such as the Sikhs. Don't we love them too?
And where would this lead to?
If the case is won by the party who wants the word to be banned, this will be used as a precedent to other cases in the future, and will only lead to them banning more words, which is already happening by the way, thanks to the Church who have been keeping silent and allowing those in power to push them to a corner.

Somehow those in power have come to realised that there's one way to keep the Christians quiet and submissive - persecution. It has happened before.. and we have responded in the exact way that they wanted us to respond.. I hope and pray that history will not repeat itself.
I hope we do realise that slowly, the Christians are being pushed out of this country that we love.
Are we happy with that? Are we going to leave it alone? Are we going to be happy enough to leave the country and say, "if they want to have this country by themselves so much, just let them have it lah.." ?
We're here in Malaysia for a reason.. for a purpose.
When will we ever step up to be salt and light at this place where we are?
What will God say when He sees His children abandoning the place He has placed us in?



Lord, forgive us.
Allah, maafkanlah kami.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:43-45

This passage came to mind at such a time as this.

Amid what has happened... Metro Tab is probably not the only church affected... I'm sure there're other churches suffering the same fate, but not reported...
Nevertheless, Christians are not called to bring war, but peace... just as Christ showed love even in the time of suffering, I believe Christians are called to do likewise as well.

Christ came to love
Christ came to die
Christ came to rise and live again
Christ came for all

How should our response be?
Be that like of Christ

Trying times ahead

Let us get down on our knees

2010

An end to a chapter leads to a beginning of a new chapter.
Likewise, the end of a year brings forth a new beginning of a new year.

So what is there in 2010 to look forward to?

New challenges and experiences? Most definitely.. can't run away from those every new year.

New hope? Yupz.. hope so.

New datelines? MORE datelines (or deadlines) sounds more like it.. *pengsan*

New holiday trips? Of course! lol..





More friends getting married? Probably not as much as this year, given that most of my friends are Chinese who have superstitious fears about getting married in the year of the Tiger.. Jason and Ruth are an exception.. :)

More importantly, 2010 promises us that the same God that has brought us through the thick and thin of 2009 will once again bring us through 2010..
Things may not be smooth sailing, but He has promise to walk by our side and be our strength and refuge at all times, be it good or bad.



But before we get to all those things to look forward for in 2010, it'll be good to look back at 2009 and see what are the things we can thank God for..


Among the many things I can thank God for..



UK-Greece trip





























































Apofasi (College CG Camp)
























New 2nd-Hand Ferrari














Random outings / reunions / birthdays / trips








































































































































(The above pics belong to various people)




Christmas!
























(Christmas pics belong to Sue Ann and Tabby)




And on a totally random note, the year apparently ended in a "Blue Moon"



Anyway...

May you have a good new year ahead

HAPPY 2010!

Firsts

Tomorrow will probably be a day of many firsts.. :)

Random

Hhmm... this looks like a very normal pic.. nothing special, right?
Well well... what d'ya know.. this photo was selected for inclusion in the newly released 9th edition of the Schmap Manchester Guide!

If you do nt have a single clue what is that, neither did I before I got an email indication that this picture has been selected to be part of the guide.. LOL

The site can be found below though if you're interested to go have a look...


Old Trafford and Salford
http://www.schmap.com/manchester/introduction_neighborhoods/p=1010D08/i=1010D08_77.jpg


It's nothing big.. but since this is the first ever time any of my pictures got selected for anything at all, thought I'd jst blog about it... :P



Anyway on a totally irrelevant note, there's such a thing called "playing Settlers too much within a week"... enough of Settlers... seriously, enough...
*yeah rite.. lol!*

Take My Life

Take my life and let it be,
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move,
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be,
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use,
Every power as You choose.

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour,
At Your feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.

Mission

"Missions exists because worship doesn't"

"The ultimate goal in missions is to glorify God"

"It is time for this generation to rise"

"Don't be a bag of salt, but go out and salt the earth"

"Be a light that shines, not a light that blinds"

"Do not be so heavenly-minded, that you are of no earthly use"

and also

"Do not be so earthly-minded, that you are of no heavenly use"




We have been complacent and too comfortable where we are for too long now...

Apofasi

Occasion : College CG Camp '09

Venue : El-Sanctuary, Alor Gajah

Dates : 28 - 31-Aug-09

Theme : APOFASI - for better, for worse





What is inspiring to one, may not be as inspiring to another..
What is exciting to one, may not be as exciting to another..
What is a challenge to one, may not be as big a challenge to another..

While not every single one has been blessed, I'm still glad that all could make it for this year's College CG Camp - Apofasi.


It was awesome to some (me included).. maybe not so to others.. but everyone will have to agree that we had the best camp food yet!
As one of the campers put it - "it was cooked with love.." :)


It was fun, yet serious..


It was also relaxing, yet tiring as well..


It was good to be able to play BRIDGE again.. LOL!


It was good to have Annette back...
I feel that I should attend less camps where Annette is the speaker, 'cause at almost everytime during her sessions, I'll feel slapped in the face, kick in the a**, and as if someone's shouting, "There! You asked for it!"
No, I was joking about attending less.. in fact, I should attend more... I need these slapping-kicking sessions every now and then..


All in all, I thank the Lord for He was present at the camp




Now comes the tough part..

We've heard
We've seen
We've felt
We've been inspired
We've been encouraged
We've been challenged

Now what?

There's a lot to think about..
A lot to question ourselves..




Will we answer the call?
Remember Moses

Will we say no to defilement?
Remember Daniel and his friends


Or will we continue as if nothing's changed?
Will we continue to cave into public opinion?
Will we, like Pilate, go with the crowd?
Will we follow the flow, whichever pulls us stronger?





















Will we be fighting for brotherhood? Fighting for our brothers?
Remember the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh
Or will we forget about brotherhood and go to war like the 9 and a half tribes almost did?











Will we run towards those who're in trouble?
Will we offer love and help even to those who have fallen into sin?


Are we willing to be an offering?
Are we willing to go for God's glory?
Remember Nehemiah
Or will we just decide to remain comfortable?

Are we willing to listen to God's voice?


And when the time comes to decide, to make an apofasi, let us not make it alone..
We are a family.. a brotherhood...

Will we be there for one another?

Through ups and downs, thick and thin, frowns and smiles.. even in craziness... :P

I hope so... :)



















And to a dear friend who has answered the call...
All the best to you as you brave yourself for a new and probably challenging adventure..

It's all happening too soon...
But well, like I've said, you're just an AirAsia away..

May God go with you even as you face lots of anxieties and uncertainties..
He's worth trusting in..





















Take care

We will miss you

Who Am I

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning Star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours.
I am Yours.


Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours.


Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling,
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours.
I am Yours.
I am Yours.

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
I am Yours..
I am Yours..

Family Day

Historical event


EEFC's first ever


FAMILY DAY!

01-Aug-09




















It was tiring.. but it was also fun!

:)

The Tale of 4 Stadiums (and an unrelated Platform)

Once upon a time, there lived 4 stadiums.. namely Old Trafford, Emirates, Stamford Bridge and Anfield.

Old Trafford lived in Manchester.
Both Emirates and Stamford Bridge were from London, while Anfield came from Liverpool.

Over time, they became among the most well known stadiums not only in England, but in Europe as well.

A traveller once asked them, "Which of you is the best?"



















Old Trafford, with full confidence, claimed to be the best among the 4.

Indeed, it was very impressive and fully deserved to be called the best!



Emirates roared in disagreement, claiming to be on par, if not better.

Well, it is after all the most modern stadium among the 4.. but whether it was the best of not remains debatable.



Stamford Bridge was not in a very confident mood, knowing that its facilities and size could not match that of Old Trafford and Emirates.

Nevertheless, it was quietly confident that it was not the worst.. lol...



And finally, the *clears throat* worst of them all - the title was always gonna go to Anfield..

Being one of the oldest may not do it much good after all... but who knows, they might be undergoing some kinda restructuring soon enough if some rich Russian or Arabian buys over Liverpool FC.



_________________________



This is totally unrelated to the above..

Anyway, I finally got to see the Platform 9¾ in real life! LOL!

This is just a replica lah.. haha.. but it's still something...

I'm Back!

I'm back!!
















Updates will come soon...

Fly

I'm gonna