Daz's Miracle

Bitter gourd juice. I can't think of another reason why anyone would drink it besides the fact that it's highly effective in preventing acne. I, unfortunately, am a victim of this destructive gene and have become subject to the delightful essence of bitter gourd at least once a week.

It doesn't taste half as bad as it sounds! Nevertheless, i would gulp it down as quickly as i could when i first started drinking it. However, i found myself subconsciously taking small sips while talking to lil sis on the phone just then. I was almost enjoying it! haha!

Here's a brilliant suggestion for all bubble tea shops out there: Bitter gourd milk/bubble tea/ snow shakes/ smoothies. YUM!


Here's another miracle to add to the year 2008. Darren (aka Daz) was one of the many high schoolers that weren't allowed to come for the upcoming Fungus camp. Initially, his mum said that the $140 sign up fee was too dear. So, a few of us leaders agreed to chip in to for a subsidy. With the price problem resolved, however, his mum said that she didn't want Daz to be involved with too many Christian activities; the underlying reason from the very beginning. Her decision came as a DEAD END. Her adamant claim eradicated every ray of hope for Daz.

It was about this time last week when i decided to pray and fast. During that time, i managed to finish reading John Eldredge's Wild At Heart. In his last chapter, Elredge writes about taking a step of faith to live out the exciting adventure that God has planned for us.

"Most men spend the enery of their lives trying to eliminate risk, or squeezing it down to a more manageable size."

"Our false self demands a formula before he'll engage; he wants a guarantee of success, and mister, you aren't going to get one. So there comes a time in a man's life when he's got to break away from all that and head off into the unknown with God. This is a vital part of our journey and if we balk here, the journey ends."

God spoke to me while i was reading this in a way that seemed all too familiar. I love it how God speaks to us in ways that suits our individual characters such that we feel so comfortable, so at ease. God put within my heart a burning passion to fight for what I believe in. He said that He'll always be there for me. He'll be my strength. He'll give me the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, a sword, a helment, a shield. He would fight WITH me, but if i wanted to win the battle, i would have to take a step of faith; pick up my sword and start waving it around like a madman.

The message was clear and i knew it was for Daz cuz he was always on my mind throughout this encounter with God. But i didn't know whether it was from God, or was my mind feeding my need for answers with subconscious rationalisations? I prayed for wisdom and discernment just as Soloman did. No answer.

I saw Darren at church the next day and i told him what i thought God had said to me. I told him that if he really wanted to come for camp, he had to fight for it. He had to sit his mum down and tell him exactly why he wanted to go for the camp in a serious and resolute tone. He looked rather startled initially, but i was glad that he was taking me seriously. He didn't know where to start. So I sat him down and asked him a simple question: Why do you want to go for camp?
Doubt started to creep into my heart when he struggled to find a response.

Why am i so concerned for Darren's walk with God? I see in him something many others ought to have: a pure heart.

That was 6 days from camp. And just today (2 days from camp), he sent me this text:

"Hey... just thought i'd tell you something... I'M GOING CAMP!!!!"

Praise the Lord for He is faithful!

Rain..

You lifted me up,
Every time i fell down, O Lord
You are the light in my darkest night.
You heard my cry,
When I poured out my heart to You
You set my feet upon a rock
And now I stand here in awe of You.
- isaac

I just got back from a utterly demoralizing and fatiguing soccer game. It had rained the entire morning. As a result, the entire pitch was nothing but sticky mud. YES, STICKY MUD that sucks your boots in and makes it twice as hard to run or change directions. I was completely puffed out by the start of the 2nd half, but i was told to "suck it in" by my very encouraging teammates (not sarcastic). The biased ref was utterly put a depressing spin on the match - 2 clear handballs in the penalty area, and a clear reckless challenge on Jimmy by the keeper should've given us 3 penalties.

I had a very depressing game esp. after going a goal down due to Falcon's (that's the ref) lack of integrity. Nevertheless, every soccer game, no matter how horrible, has its fair share of memorable moments of sheer elation. Mine came from a very special person who deserves a very special mention - Jimmy (that dude next to me the pic below). haha! He managed to get his first goal of the season (it's about time, bro!) It wasn't pretty.. but I sure was dead happy for him.

Here's a pic we took on the day Yvonne and Aunty Eileen left for Singapore. It's a pity that Yvonne took the photo, but don't fret.. she features again in a pic with Chloe right at the end.


He's my favourite 2yr old, Chloe! Isn't she adorable?
She loves me. I love her too.
Aww.. she's tired. That's her mum, Aunty Alicia.
Here's Yvonne again. My beautiful (both intrinsic and extrinsic!) cousin who's going to get married in the next 4 years and have many many adorable babies before she's 30! :)



Rain. It always fascinates me. After the church service today, I really didn't feel like talking to anyone. So I walked out into the rain and began to let my mind go wild. I was getting utterly drenched but i couldn't care less.

Imagine being caught in the rain. There's no shelter in sight. No shelter at all. You're trapped. Confined. Reduced to the state where you'll have to shrivel up into a ball to face the blistering cold.

We take "shelter" for granted. We know that if it rains, we'll eventually find somewhere. An umbrella, a tree, a building, whatever. But what if there shelter was no shelter?

- I, for one, would be forced to look up to God for salvation.

I walked back into the lounge after soaking up enough rain. I still didn't feel like talking. So i took a seat, alone, on a comfy sofa beside the window. It was still raining outside. Then i marveled at how this "shelter" that all of us take for granted has such a significant meaning in our struggles in life.

Imagine being caught in the rain. You're cold; blistered by the chilling wind. Drenched from head to toe. You begin to feel frantic and confused. There's a shelter up ahead so you dash right in search of solace. You're in the shelter alright.. BUT... it's still raining. You're still cold; blistered by the chilling wind; drenched from head to toe; frantic. Confused.

- We are all faced with rain and storms in our lives. We often look for a shelter: sleep, sport, computer games, friends, sex, drugs, alcohol, late sleazy nights. We think that these shelters can shield us from the rain. Yet in many of our lives, the icy sharp raindrops are still pounding upon us.

Rain. It fascinates me. It reminds me that the Maker of heaven and earth has an unfathomable mind that mingles with the mediocre thoughts of men. Yet He loves us. Yet He cares.

Exams linger on...

My self-proclaimed "bbfl", Jan, is the epitome of vanity. Why do i say so?
I found this picture amongst MANY similar ones in her USB.



It sure feels like the exams are over... but they're not! -.-" I've still got a Physio prac exam next Monday and it's really getting on my nerves. I've been practicing AMTs, PMTs, massages, and movement analyses every morning with Luna. It started off fun and interesting, but it's starting to get really draining doing the same stuff over and over again.

I don't see myself as a proper Physio yet. I'm still so jittery and unsure when it comes to explaining techniques and giving clear instructions to the patient. Ahh.. i don't sound professional enough! :(

I've gotta practice.. practice.. practice!!

Wild At Heart.. I've got two chapters left, but that passion i had when i first started reading it has somewhat faded. I'm beginning to realise that this is a really huge weakness of mine. Whenever i set my mind on something, i will do ANYTHING to achieve it instantaneously. But more often than not, when the going gets tough, my passion gets going too! -.-"" That's what Qynn warned me about at the start of the year when i took up a leadership role at Fungus.

No, I don't want to be ruled by my weakness. I won't be.

My Source of Strength

How can i walk this windy road,
When there's no fire within my soul?
Who will keep my boat afloat,
When time finally takes its dreadful toll?

As the autumn leaves fall,
Surely my passions will not run forever.
What will it take,
To revive an exhausted endeavor?

I look to you, O Lord
For you are a constant source of strength.
Breathe in me a new hope,
That I may serve you with all my heart.

Let my passions be,
Like the sun that burns unceasing days.
Guide me as a Father would,
That I may walk in all your ways.

isaac
5/8/08

A Cousin I've Never Known.. An Aunt I've Always Misunderstood

The last week has been one of my most memorable ones. Besides the exhilaration that exams usually bring, there was something else that made last week special.
Aunty Eileen and jie jie Yvonne came over to Melbourne for a semi-holiday. Yvonne's main reason for coming was to attend her best friend's wedding. They stayed with us for the week, and i got to know them a whole lot more.

Throughout my 13 years in Singapore, I've always thought of Aunty Eileen as a pretty noisy 60 year old granny that cooks good laksa, and likes to nag relentlessly about insignificant things. Well, my view of her changed completely. I actually spoke to her quite a bit when she was here, and she turns out to be one of the most caring, supportive, funny, meek, and cool 60 year old ladies i know! haha! She reckons i'm very "guai" :)
I'm terrible at forming first impressions. I'm always wrong about people! ><"" This is just another lesson to teach me not to judge a book by its cover AT ALL!
jie jie Yvonne. She's always been someone that i've looked up to and respected with all my heart. She led my youth group in Singapore for many years before leaving not too long ago. While she's known me since i was 3 or 4, I've never actually had a proper conversation with her simply because of our age gap. haha! I can only remember teasing her about her age, and about getting married soon.

A woman's age is a secret, and it always will be. But we'll just say that she's just less than twice my age! (sorry yvonne! :P) During her stay here, i felt as though i got to know a completely new cousin that i've never had! It's sooo cool to have someone that has been through her fair share of experiences to talk to.
They actually visited us at a terrible time cuz both sha and i were having exams. But i managed to take a day off to accompany them to Philip Island (managed to clock 4hours of driving!). I really enjoyed myself there, and i'm sure they did too! We had some delicious fish and chips at the beach, took many many photos at Nobbies, and watched the inexplicably adorable penguins!

It was raining intermittently and i thought the gloomy skies would ruin the day. Ironically, the rain was the main factor that made the day special. At Nobbies, we got to see a rainbow form on the horizon from beginning to end! But that's not it! Another rainbow started to form above that one such that there were TWO rainbows! That was truly a magnificent sight to behold!

After that, the light dash of rain ceased. Golden rays of light shone through the patches of gloomy grey clouds and onto the bright blue surface of the sea. Extraordinary. The rays of light were so pure; their source could only be that of angels!


Here's a random clip from the sleepover that we had last Friday night. Jan, Ann and my lil sis came over to annoy me and Sha. They hid my Mac, vandalised my wall with the words: "i know what you did last night!", and stole my Malteasers! haha!

Euro 2008

Euro 2008 has finally begun! I'll be barracking for Spain this time, but i reckon Portugal will win it. Just wanted to vent for a bit. I find it so frustrating how Football (the real one) is internationally recognised as the The World Game, but it's soooo under-rated in Australia! The Sports section of the daily paper is always about Footy, the news revolves around Footy, everyone's crazy about Footy - a sport that's only played in Australia (for good reason!)

Foxtel charges $40 for the basic package (mainly consists of useless reality-TV channels) and an extra $20 bucks for the Sports package.. WHICH BLOODY DOESN'T INCLUDE THE EURO 2008!!!!

(#@U*)(%U)(%*)(@^)$YU)(H)EW)(GUF()F*F)(F()*)(*#)$@_#$(!@$*(*%@$#)()#%_@#%*_#%(_#()#%()%@#%*()@#%*(#&$(*)#$&(_@#%#%@&*@#%(*@$_(@#%*@#$*_&#$#@$_@#$)(

HOW CAN YOU NOT PROVIDE WHAT IS CURRENTLY THE WORLD'S MOST ANTICIPATED AND MOST WATCHED SPORTING EVENT IN A SPORTS PACKAGE WORTH $20!?!?!??!?!?!?!

INSTEAD, FOXTEL INTRODUCES A NEW CHANNEL "SETANA SPORTS" WITH A ADD-ON $15/MONTH FEE!

WHAT THE?!?!?!??!!?

I shall stop being so angry. Retarded, money-thirsty, blood-sucking, despicable, immoral, UNETHICAL multinational businesses like Foxtel suck the life out of the Beautiful Game.

There should be a channel dedicated exclusively to The World Game!

God's At Work

I just received a forwarded email from my Aunt Eugenie. It contained a youtube video link and these words:

"It [the video] reminds me of the verses that i was meditating on for the past few weeks:

1 Co 2:4 And my speech and preaching was not with the enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1 Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

This is breath-taking stuff!

God is real. He sent Jesus to die for our sins and to give us eternal life. Believe it.

Awesome Lap Guitar!

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