The Harrowing Winter

While there are many reasons to rejoice, like we moving to Suntec, and the many blessings that are included into the "Memorial" page of my blog, this year has been a tough one. And perhaps the toughest one yet.

Last year, I went through a humiliatingly painful experience, through which God taught me faithfulness and discipline. God helped me to be more discipline (more is the keyword, I still lack discipline :X), I believe because He has a great destiny for my life, which requires me to be a disciplined man of God. Thank God that He chastises me, because He loves me.

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;
For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights."
Pro 3:11-12

This year had 2 equally, if not more, painful experiences. But they were not about discipline, but about decisiveness and pride. Maybe I don't learn except by these experiences. Nonetheless, God is good :) I am His son, He loves me, therefore He chastises me. And He has blessed me abundantly, like being accepted into DigiPen, schools fees cut by 66% because of the 2 Year Degree Programme, my awesome new phone, different Job offers, privilege to play for WR Zone, different CGs, LiveJam, etc. 

But all these material blessings and ministry opportunities mean nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to relationships. I thank God for my dearest friends, who been with me during my tough times, and constantly bring joy and life. I thank God for my family, especially my mother; I thank Him that I've grown a little closer with my family.

Truly when you are have lost everything else, you realize that family and friends are all that matters. And without a shadow of doubt, God my Father matters most. I can afford to lose anything and anyone but Him. To hear His voice and to feel His presence, is more than enough.

So its been a bad year for me, but I'm not the only one. So many of my friends had their tough times, some much worse then I. You could be one of them. Let us stay united despite the troubles; let not the evil one take opportunity to divide us. No matter the differences and hurts, the love of Christ is more than enough. Always pray for one another (trust me, your own pain will feel better when your pray for others), and let the love of God be shared abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost.

Through the cold and harsh winter, let us become stronger, more mature, and more united.

Look out, for spring awaits! :)

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Heb 12:11)

Moo.

Jeremy Lee introduced this epi-tarded song :D

I am Cow!!!! by Arrogant Worms
I am Cow, hear me moo
I weigh twice as much as you
And I look good on the barbecue
Yogurt, curd, cream, cheese and butter's
Made from liquid from my udders
I am Cow, I am Cow, hear me moo

I am Cow, eating grass
Methane gas comes out my ass
And out my muzzle when I belch
O, the ozone layer is thinner
From the outcome of my dinner
I am Cow, I am Cow, I've got gas

I am Cow, here I stand
Far and wide upon this land
And I am living everywhere
From B.C. to Newfoundland
You can squeeze my teats by hand
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow!

Joy

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."(Gal 5:22-23)

Are you feeling joyful?

The Holy Spirit brings JOY. If you are not happy, you are not in the will of God. Be happy!

2 causes of unhappiness:
1) Unfavorable Circumstances: "My life sucks!"
2) Pity Partying: "My life sucks. I choose to be unhappy and I'm telling the world on Facebook and Twitter so that you can pity me. So quick, start pitying! Me!"

Okay jokes aside...

Recently, I've been unhappy, fearful and stressed about stuff in my life. But if the fruit of the Spirit is Joy and Peace, I should be confident about my situation, that everything's not just gonna be alright, but gonna be GREAT. Because God is on my side, and He has come to give life, and life more abundantly!

If you know that you can't do it, good! Because His strength is made perfect in your weakness. You are going to find yourself doing things that you were never good at. You will conquer the your greatest fears. It is because of who you are in Christ.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," (Eph 3:20, NIV)

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Cor 15:10)

By the grace/power of God, you can overcome all weakness, all trials, all temptations, all fears, all failures, all sickness, etc

But its not psycho-ing yourself to be happy. Talk to God. Tell Him about your frustrations. Ask Him for His grace to overcome. Then believe, even when you doubt. Just a small mustard seed of faith, even if mixed with fear, can cause you to walk on water in the midst of a storm, just like Peter.

All glory to God!

Final Day Reporting For NS!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY AT DESIGN PROGIDY! LAST DAY REPORTING FOR NS! :D

Talk about Happy National Day!!! ORD LOH!! (well almost... officially ORD on 14 Sept)

Spent the day monitoring NDP Website, uploading hundreds of NDP photos to Flickr, and playing L4D2 =X
Bryan and I treated to 2 younger members of the Website Team to lunch at a Dim Sum Restaurant :)
Sort of a tradition for the ORD personnel.

After today, a new and glorious phase of my life shall commence!

Just registered for all my modules for my 1st Semester at DigiPen, they look exciting :) Kinda stress about it though; hope that I can manage my time well in DigiPen. From now till the start of school, I'm gonna focus on the game project I'm working on. Gotta rush it finish, otherwise I won't have time when school starts!

Relying on the grace of God!

Phew!

I'm a completionistic perfectionist with obsessive compulsive disorder! Spent hours and days organising my contacts! If a contact is from my secondary school, I would prefix the name with a 'OP', meaning Orchid Park. If a contact is from the cellgroup, I will prefix the name with a 'CG'. And I have 15 categories and almost 400 contacts, so there you have it.

But now I'm frustrated with my WhatsApp not showing my contacts and my Contacts showing too many contacts. And I'm searching for the best calendar app out there. It must work perfectly!!!

Sony Xperia PLAY!

My Razer Abyssus mouse wheel suddenly stop working! There was a 'click' sound and it became loose :( I think I still have warranty though.

On the much brighter side of life, my mum came to me one day asked me if I wanted a new phone. She bought a Mio package for our new house broadband, and the Singtel guys threw in a Sony Xperia Play. It sort of rang a bell in my mind, but I didn't know what it was, or how good the phone was.

Later I found out that its reeaallly good Andriod phone! More than that, it's the Playstation Phone for crying out loud! =D

Music, Games, Social Media, Touch Screen and a Funky Gamepad? Whatchu know about Smartphones?

Check this video out:

Man that mechanism feels tight! LOL

I'm still configuring the phone and getting used to it. Have yet to transfer the 300 plus contacts over to the new number, so I'll be using my old phone for quite a while.

Thank God for this new awesome phone! I didn't even ask for it. All I wanted was an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S or something similar. Well this is it, with a Playstation gamepad chucked into it underbelly. God is good!

Sony Xperia PLAY. Smart.