Thursday, November 29, 2012

which means

November is ending,
which means
December is beginning,
which means
Christmas is coming,
which means
Holidays :D
which mean
the end of semester,
which means
assignment deadlines
which after that means
study break,
which also means
exams after :\
which then means
freedom when it's done :D
which before that means
a new year,
which means
the end of 2012,
which means
the fresh start of 2013
which means
...

I always say it's crazy how time flies :| but I thank God for each and every moment and second with Him. And in Him I know my days and times are secure in His hands. There will be crazy stormy confusing tiring and horrible days, but we can trust in the God, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, to bring us through what is to come. We need not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 
for tomorrow will worry about itself. 
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34

Trust God and seek Him first.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

happy birthday :)

a bit late, but anyway...

Happy Birthday, Ernest Lee!



i love you :)
ngaawww :P

*BIGHUG*

thank you for always being there for me :)
it's been quite a wonderful journey thus far;
of knowing you and then falling in love with you and now learning to love each other better.
may we continue to grow personally and together,
always having Christ at the center of it all.

may you always have your heart set upon God and the things of God, that He may continue to build you and shape you into the man He has intended for you to be and that He would use your life to reach out and touch many other lives. may He be your strength and peace in all that you do and know that His grace is sufficient for you. His love never fails.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
He is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour our your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:5-8

God is our refuge, stay strong in Him.
:)

with lotsa lotsa lotsa love,
waiyan

(23rd November 2012)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

carry on

i had one of the best semester breaks last week, one of the best weeks of my life :)

it's been over two months since i last saw Ernest in person and so this one week together was something i really looked forward to. there were quite a number of change of plans, but i guess things still turned out good :)

we did a lot of travelling together :) and i loved it! but poor guy was the driver while i sat comfortably in the passenger seat :\ it was a lot of long talks during those long drives. singing along with the radio, sometimes falling asleep.

this song "Carry On" by F.U.N. was played about fifteen or more times during our trip. jadilah our trip's theme song.


i got to spend some time with his family in his hometown, Tanjung Malim. met his friends here and there. went for my first Deepavali open houses :) went back to the refugee school with Ernest. which brought back a lot of memories for me :) and reminded me what a great man i am blessed with :) met Joshua Johnson who says he was the one who matched us up way back in SWEEP. :| haha.

he brought me to tour his hometown and then brought me back to his campus in Nibong Tebal, Penang. met more of his uni friends who i find to be very funny and who made me feel at home :) we went night running. had talks on the sidewalk. i fell into a hole in the ground right in front of Ernest :\ must have been a little over-excitement :P

we went to Penang and explored a bit. ditched our hiking plans and decided to enjoy the beach at a hotel. it was so serene, so perfect. i always loved the sea. :) met more friends for lunch and changed plans again and decided to head back to campus. dinner again that night with his friends. two tomyam places were closed, so we settled for steamboat. assignments at night :| and was so tired we decided to do face masks in the car at 2 am :|

the next day was the day before our run. went over to Penang island again and met up with Phang Carmen. went for dinner with more of his friends who were also going for the marathon, at Kapitan which has awesome tandoori chicken with briyani rice. and headed over to Isaac's place for the night. got ready at about 1 am for the run. this was actually the reason for the trip, our half marathon on the Penang bridge.

Penang bridge half-marathon (21km), we finished in about 3 hours 11 minutes, okaylahh. considering our training was like... it was quite an experience, i must say. Ernest and i ran together most of the way, until the last kilometer.

tadaa :) finisher!

:)
next run, we'll finish it together kay :) 
there's a next run? 

after the run, got back to Isaac's place all aching and sticky and smelly. took our baths and everyone konked out for a few hours. watched Pitch Perfect and after that we just went here and there, till it was time for me to go back home. kinda decided on that that night. was actually really heavy hearted to leave though :( 

i guess, it's the distance and how much i miss him. and also that coming back meant a crazy workload (which was brought upon myself with my "amazing" time management.) but no regrets on the break. it was worth it :) 

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on
- Carry On, F.U.N.

like in a reaaaallyyy long marathon or journey, i guess life's like that. there'll be the really tiring and low times, where our whole body just wants to give up. we may take a rest, but we don't stop. we carry on with perseverance and hope in God. now, go carry on. and may God be with you! :)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

plugged in

"stay connected," 
He says to me.


I am the vine, you are the branches. 
If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. 
Apart from Me, you can do nothing. 
John 15:5

back to the hustle and bustle of semester again. i'll write about semester break another time :) this was just a reminder to me today that i've got to stay connected to God in order to live life in His ways. my quiet time has been pretty inconsistent lately and the amount of work that i've got to do is kind of overwhelming. :( but God reminds me, to put Him first above all. nothing is more urgent or important than keeping this relationship plugged in and alive. Apart from Him, I can do nothing, I am nothing.

so, pray i survive this week and more importantly, stay connected to God. 

Monday, November 12, 2012

what i miss

I  miss home. I miss Dad and Mom. I miss Yew Kong and Charity and Panda the bunny. I miss Yew Meng. I miss Yew Leung. I miss Ernest, the boyfriend. I miss my secondary school days and friends. I miss netball and the team. I miss CF. I miss church. I miss camps. I miss my grandparents. I miss my loved ones who have passed away. I miss Ipoh. I miss my roommates. I miss those days in Kelantan in NS. I miss school holidays. I miss sleepovers. I miss Saturday mornings and cartoons. As much as I didn't like it then, I miss scouting and the troop. I miss prayer gatherings. I miss studying in church. I miss dancing. I miss my family. I miss friends I've drifted apart from. I miss friends who are far away. I miss the beach, I miss the mountains, I miss the waterfalls, I miss the jungles. I miss the adventures. I miss the children. I miss travelling. I miss fishing. I miss hiking. I miss my childhood. I miss my teenage years. I miss the excitement. I miss the chasing. I miss the crazy fun random times. I miss the discovery. I miss carefree days. I miss a lot of people, a lot of times, a lot of things, a lot of places, a lot.

The world changes. Familiarity fades, but then the new things in life take that position after a while. It keeps us moving forward, keeps us extending our boundaries, keeps us going. Sometimes we look back and we miss the old. But I say to me,"Set your eyes on things above and not on the things of the earth..." because the person I miss most is my Lord, Jesus ChristAnd I await to see Him when He returns.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2

Saturday, November 10, 2012

10-11-12

i have this thing for number combinations :) and for the longest time since i found out that the 10th of November 2012 was a Saturday, i have been saying i would make it my wedding day :P it'll be memorable :)

but 10-11-12 is here, and i am neither ready to get married nor am i planning to sign any papers or elope with any boy, so i guess the wedding's postponed :P

the next cool combinations are 12-12-12 but that's a Wednesday or 11-12-13 which is also a Wednesday. oh well, i guess i'll just get married when the time's right.

semester break is here :)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

PAW :)


This is Paw :) He's a bear. Not a dog, a bear! :) He's the nicest bear to have around and a great travel buddy :) He's been to places to National Service in Kelantan with me, to Camp Camerons, church camps, Committee Planning Retreat (CPR), etc.

National Service in Kelantan
CPR in Melaka
Helping with the brainstorming :)
Paw airwalking in Camp Camerons 2012 :)
Joyce and Paw on the way to THE Camp 2012.
So anyway, we learned some new things from Paw in the recent PKV camp. :) This is how we reach out to our world. And how we should share the Good News :)


P - Prayer
A - Action
W - Word



Pray for the people around us because ultimately it is God who works in the hearts and lives of people. We can only do so much, God is the one who saves. Action by living out the word of God. When people see a difference in us - the way we live, the way we react in situations, the way we treat others - they will question WHY? And may that open the doors for us to share with words the amazing love of Christ to those around us :)

Well, Noah also suggested Praise And Worship. Can also lah :)

Ngaaaww, Paw is shhoooo cute :) Hee!

Bye!

*runs to the bed and cuddles Paw*

Monday, November 5, 2012

T.H.E. Camp 2012

a little overdue. but better late than never :)


camp was God's grace right from the preparations before camp, during camp and right up till today. I pray that the fire still stays in our hearts and that it would burn brightly.

it was encouraging to see each person come and be a part of the camp. the camp committee really did a good job and i think God also opened the way as we trusted in Him. He provided a venue, provided the speaker, Pastor Daniel Tan, and most importantly, He called the people :) in about less than three weeks.

there were times of uncertainties and stress along the way; money, payments, sponsorship, pull outs, etc. but God proved to be sovereign over these things. no problem too big for Him :)

I enjoyed the fellowship with the people :) getting to know some better as well as strengthening the old friendships. there was a sense of unity and genuine relationships built. camps have that ability to bring people together :) and I pray that these friendships continue to grow throughout our uni years.


That's our theme for this year. N.O.W. It's to remind us of the urgent times we live in. Pastor Daniel did a great job with the sessions. He began with very fundamental things for our faith in the first session about "Hearing God's Voice". Because when we are in a two way communication with God personally and intimately, we will know His will. He gave very practical ways to this. First knowing how God speaks: through the Word of God, prayer, Holy Spirit, people, dreams and visions, circumstances, and sometimes in the audible voice :| (whoa, i wonder what that would be like). He taught us then how do we listen to God's voice? We need to take on the right postures: Seek, Surrender (humility), Silent (to listen), Stay (to wait and dwell in His presence) and to have hearts that are like good Soil (hearing and obeying the word).

The second session was about the Narrow Way which echoes our theme that there is no other way but through Christ. There's the Broad way and the Narrow way.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 
Matthew 7:13-14 
It was a reminder that we cannot live our lives any way we want or do things just because the world is doing it. It meant living in Christ, following His word rather than the word of the world. Muuuch easier said than done, but we do not walk alone, nor do we walk by our own strength. God grants grace for us to finish the race, to walk this journey with Him. The narrow way is only possible through Christ :)

The third session was entitled "Disturb Us, Lord". It challenged us to live for a cause that is bigger than ourselves. To look beyond "me" and to look to God. When God disturbs us from our comfortable and safe lives, how do we respond? Taking the encounter of the first calling of the disciples in Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus came into the boat of Peter, taught the crowds from it and later told him to put out to sea and let down their nets for a catch after a loooong night of catching no fish. When Peter obeyed, they caught a crazy amount of fish. This opened his eyes and he fell at Jesus' feet knowing that Jesus was more than just a man. Jesus then calls Peter to follow Him and that He would make them fishers of men. Peter left all he had and followed Jesus. Our response, when God comes into our lives and rocks our boats is to start small - obey. Jesus came into their boats and told Peter to 'put out a little from land', God doesn't always come in all His glory with a mission impossible task right away to us. It's when we start obeying Him in the little things that He then gives us bigger tasks. He knows how much we can handle. We then need to go deep! Jesus told Peter to go deep and to let down their nets for a catch. Peter's answer was, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at your word word I will let down the net." He was listening to Jesus teaching the crowds prior to this and because of that, it gave him the faith to obey. We need the word of God in our lives, to convict us to go deeper than we normally would, to try again even after a whole night of catching nothing. The last thing is to surrender all. Right after catching the mother load of fishes, their eyes weren't fixed on their success, instead their eyes were fixed on Jesus. It was a reminder to us not to let our success take us away from God. Humility. So, start small, go deep, surrender all.

The final session was about How do we Shine? Pastor Daniel brought us back to the point and purpose of the church. He said the church is the hope for the world. The world can only see Jesus through us. No other way; only through us.
Let your light shine before all men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 
Matthew 5:16 
How do we shine? Be genuine, let people see Christ in our lives. Don't just do things so that we can preach to them. Don't do things with ulterior motives. But love, because Christ first loved us. Love because that is what God calls us to do; to love God and to love others. Give what you have, not what you don't have. We'll never start if we keep saying, "Let me have this first, then I will..." or "I don't have anything to give." Give what you have :) God is able to provide for our needs. We need to stretch out our hands and lift others up. We need to touch lives, not just meet their physical needs. The human being is more than a body, it has a soul. People need acceptance and freedom for their souls. Lives are never transformed by silver or gold, but by the touching of the human soul. So, let's go and shine our lights. :) Pastor Daniel said, "You say 'turn on the light' and 'turn off the light' but no one says 'turn on darkness'. Light always conquers darkness. It's when the light doesn't shine, that's where darkness is."

Let your light shine :) We live in urgent times. May all who see our lights, come to God.



Dear God, thank You for camp, for Your word spoken and each and every person. Thank You for the work You have done in our lives. Help us to continue running the race and going through the narrow way with You and with the people You have brought alongside us. May we continue to spur and encourage one another until we reach our goal. You are our goal. Lord, I pray that we will have the same love and passion You have for others in our lives that we would see the world through Your eyes. Commit each one who was a part of T.H.E. Camp 2012 into Your hands and pray that You continue draw us close to You. In Jesus Name, Amen :)