Him overcoming his daily life with Him

OBS;

2009-11-14T00:17:00.003+08:00

Tired and lazy. Sigh. Quick blogging alert!

Was in OBS from 9 Nov to 13 Nov, WATCH Livingstone, had Llewell as instructor, lots of fun! :D

Alright. I'm kinda tired right now, gonna continue tomorrow. *sigh*

; David

I MISSED MY HIPHOP CLASS!

2009-10-31T01:56:00.004+08:00

A ship in a harbor is safe,
But that's not what ships are for.

Likewise, we all love our comfort zones,
Yet who remembers the purpose we are for?

I need to fight on.
This battle ain't over.
The show's just begun.
If there's anyone to give up,
It must not be me.
I'm giving it my best shot,
For the One who too is giving His as well.

; David

Nothing is Impossible;

2009-10-11T01:55:00.004+08:00

I believe, in not what I see.
I believe, in not what I hear.
I believe, in not what I feel.
I only believe, in You alone.

If there's one word I'd describe my FYEs, it'd be hopeless. Generally, most of my papers are filled with problems. For once David is no longer known as the 'smart' guy ahaha. Anyway, I've been really humbled by the exams, knowing that most of them are not as easy as expected and such. Growing point I guess?

But still, I'm still praying hard that my results will come out not as what I think it would be but more of what I'm trying hard to believe that it'll be. I don't like to hold onto false hope so since I know that I really tried to give my best into the papers, I'm gonna just trust God that He'll do the rest for me.

Gonna sleep already, FYEs over and my class chalet's coming in a day! And it's 2am and I'm still not sleeping yet. Sigh. Alright, gonna go off, see ya guys in 3 days with more photos, nights.

; David

I. CAN. DO. ALL. THINGS. THROUGH. CHRIST. WHO. STRENGTHENS. ME.
NOTHING. IS. IMPOSSIBLE.
FOR. THE.
RACE. FINISHER.

; Papers

2009-10-03T01:38:00.003+08:00

Final Year Exams are here! Ahah, not like I've been looking forward to them of course. 2.5 papers past so far, still got 6 and a half more to go, I need more focus in revision, been having an ADD problem recently. x.x

Bah, I really TGIF, cause I get a 2 day 'break' before continuing with the rest of my papers. Saturday's coming, woot, super excited for tomorrow! (: It'll refresh me so much to give an entire day wholly unto God and His People, (and in the meantime also to relieve some of the stress I've been feeling recently haha).

It's 1.42am, and I'm not asleep yet, sigh. Been playing too much Blackshot ahhh. Okay God, I shall discipline myself now and go sleep hahaa. Nights, see ya guys tomorrow! :D

; David

Whispers in my Heart;

2009-09-28T22:40:00.003+08:00

When my heart has gone cold,
There Your Love will unfold,
As You open my eyes to the work of Your Hands...

- Whispers in my heart

God, thanks for everything, both good and bad. I'm beginning to revisit my core values again, will grow more, not just as a leader of these funny people (:P), but as a servant that serves You alone.

I remember when I first join Media, close to end of Sec 1 in 2007, my first ministry taken up. I had choices to make before that, asking around for opinions for this one question.

"What ministry should I join?"

I took quite awhile to think through this, starting from end-August till late September? My first choice in mind was Y-Comm cause I enjoyed designing stuff and just making them look better aha but as I prayed and thought further, God dropped this deep in my heart.

Audience of One.

Nothing else. He did not give me a specific ministry to join or what but those simple 3 words. I knew, no matter what ministry I was going to join, there was going to be only one sole reason why I first joined, to serve God, as the audience of one. I made my decision, to join Media, having the idea that in Media,

We usher in people's hearts for God to do His Work in.

We might not be the singers or drummers that people see and hear. But I'm happy that I'm right here, helping those people to literally see and hear.

Who knows, a while down the road I'll be guitar-ing with the band, or dancing with the crew, but one thing that will never change, is that I'm serving in whichever ministry, for the Audience of One.

; David

I do all these, for You alone.

Journaled;

2009-09-27T01:20:00.003+08:00

Was looking through my (rather short, barely 15 pages max. filled) journal just awhile ago, came across one of my first few writings.

Everything happens for a reason.

Man, I can't believe how I could have forgotten this! I've been worrying over FYE's, the group, my people, so much that I forgot about the trust I should put in God instead. Brandon once mentioned.

"God places specific things in our lives during specific times for specific purposes and reasons."

Simply put, the sentence I journaled. I easily put that statement at the back of my head while spending the time daunting over small issues.

God, I know that everything You do has at least a reason behind it and I trust in Your plans that no matter how much of a mountain or valley I'm feeling I know that You'll still be there for me. (:

Isn't it wonderful to know that God will be there for us through it all? Aww. :}

; David

More and more changes,
I need more and more of You.

Dear God...

2009-09-21T01:10:00.001+08:00

Hey God,

I need You to lead me
For I can't walk without You
I've no direction by myself
All I can see is more and more fog
The only way I can get through this
Is when You are the Light and the Way
Leading me through all these days

; David

Common Test 2!

2009-08-24T22:18:00.000+08:00

I've been screwing up quite a few papers now... Ahh.

English lost one mark cause I decided not to listen to your voice...
To make matters worse, Chemistry lost 3 marks due to the same problem, once bitten twice shy? Nope.
E Math lost 10 marks on the spot cause I decided to skip the first question after not being wise enough to notice that I could do 8 marks without the first part.
Social Studies & History are the ultimates, I don't even know whether I did well or not at all. Honestly.

There it goes, 5 of my papers, full of uncertainty. I pray that the last 3 papers will at least show some signs of miracle, any at all would do! God, helpppp me! I gotta be more sensitive to ya, or else I'm gonna flunk more. :x

Blah, jiayou people with your exams, I learn more each time. Heh.

; David

Xinmin Investiture!

2009-08-17T22:47:00.000+08:00

I went for Xinmin Investiture today! Left Maris Stella from like 9.30 in the morning, barely going for a few periods aha! Got scolded by Ng while looking for Jon Leong to zao together, totally different situation from my class lol. Mr Lau was still like "Have fun, enjoy yourself ah." when I was leaving the class while she was scolding Jon for leaving, biggg contrast.

Alright, went there, was fun! Got to know various people like Colin, Clement, Eric, Celine, Samantha etc. from Xinmin as well as a few from the other schools as well~ Not bad, I enjoyed my time there! Thanks guys, if you ever read this! :P (Tag me!)

Went back to school for auditions for Teacher's Day Talentime! Didn't really wanted to go back, thought I could go straight home but was called back by one of the group mates so I sighed and returned... We ended up auditioning as two diff. groups, supposedly playing my electric became playing acoustic instead to accommodate. (I was dying to play it!!) It's okay. We played Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus! :D It was decent definitely, considering we only had 15mins of practise. :x Dont ask me why aha.

Photos on facebook! :D

; David

Bellcurve ;

2009-08-15T00:34:00.004+08:00

There's no bell curve when it comes to the Standard.
It's either you're There or you're Not.
To think that just one Wrong makes you a Not,
All of us are Nots already.

Yet You came with the Standard,
Even though You could have just been There.
Living with the Nots
Showing the Rights to them.

To throw the Wrongs aside,
To change the Nots to Theres,
By giving up Your own There,
Helping Nots turn from their Wrongs
And do Rights again.

A simple and well-known story, though not many truly get the meaning behind it.

; David

What's in?

2009-08-12T21:48:00.000+08:00

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.
C. S. Lewis

I needa manage my time better.
Not just making sure I don't waste any time but to ensure that I actually make use of the time I stop wasting, instead of wasting it more.
Common Tests and FYE is coming in awhile yet David's not in the right attitude to chiong argh.
2009 in a blink will be gone, but I don't see myself doing anything significant yet..

It just strikes me, since all of us have the same amount of time, why am I not doing better?

Of course, God, let's see what you have in stored for the next moment of this "future". (:

; David

Rendition ;

2009-08-02T02:06:00.000+08:00

Rendition came and went...
I'm still looking forward to see what the caregroup can be like. This is only the beginning of a fresh start, believe it or not!

It's time when we ask ourselves honestly again,"Where am I going wrong?"
And let's move right from there.

; David

Short post, deep thoughts.

Photography ;

2009-07-30T21:52:00.000+08:00

Due to the lack of original photos used in my CCA (which is Digital Music & Arts btw), we're going on an excursion down to the Singapore Arts Musuem tomorrow to be INSPIRED by the works and take photos of the architecture around the City Hall area as well, fun!

For once we're actually heading out of the one white wall, 3 glass sides and a computer screen in front of us. Quoting the teacher-in-charge, "I came to realise that it's impossible to be inspired by anything while being inside this dull room full of whiteness." That's right, so we're taking a different approach. I see a much greater time in the club, especially since we've actually have a concrete plan this time!

The point is, I'm picking up basic photography, will be learning some tips & tricks from Mrs. Roche tomorrow! Can't wait! Excited! :D

Aha, I've also been thinking quite a lot over the caregroup recently, discussed with Zach during shepherding yesterday too. Came up with two important thoughts about a caregroup.

Caregroups can be classified easily into one of these three categories.
Dead CG -> Living CG -> Alive CG
Where's your caregroup today? When our caregroup is simply living, it's not good yet cause it'll constantly go backwards if it doesn't become alive. Just like the bird example, when a bird flies, when it stops flying, it won't hover, it'll start falling unless it continues flying up. Anything that does not grow will deteriorate and slowly die.

From Who Moved My Cheese?: Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is getting old.

When we choose to not to constantly evaluate our caregroup this way, won't it be sad to know that our caregroup is dead only when we actually see it? Therefore a caregroup needs to be evaluated all the time to know whether it's going on a positive gradient or a negative gradient. (Math pun :x)

Second thought, a question actually. Do I enjoy my caregroup? Think of this like service. If I went for service, I'd love to go, it kinda rocks actually, seeing all the happy faces and all of us gathering in that one place. What about caregroup? Do you enjoy going for caregroup or are you one who looks at the handphone occasionally to look forward to when caregroup ends? I can come up with a list of observable things to see if your caregroup is sian or fun and this is very obvious. There's no need to think twice over the question, do you enjoy your caregroup?

At the end of the day, the simplest way to start the spark is asking ourselves.
"Will I want to hold this caregroup every single day?"
Think of it this way, you're going to spend eternity with these bunch of people, will it be heaven-like or hell-like for you?

; David

What on Earth is happening?

2009-07-26T01:51:00.002+08:00

I gotta be joyful, especially at such times.
When some things just don't look too good from all angles.
When I try so hard to see that the glass is half full yet it just always looks so half empty.

I'm still trying hard!

Rendition 1 was AWESOME! I loved the performances aha. Be it silly ones like Nate and the Mouth Band, to really really cool ones like Kaiwen and J-Walk, I think that it's really amazing how they all appear as who they are and that's all that it takes at the end of the day. Looking forward to Rendition 2, see you there! (:

The Audition of Life, will we win the Prize?

; David

Christians ;

2009-07-07T21:48:00.002+08:00

What has this world come?
Christians turning against Christians?
Can't stand just a small comment?
This is a joke.
Big joke.

As for 90108328,
Await me.

; David

; Again...?

2009-06-29T21:25:00.004+08:00

God, do we have to do this every once in awhile?
Must I lose the good friends in my life?
Must I always do this?
Will there never be an end?

I feel darn messed up again.
Can't believe I go through this like once in a few months.
Like a volcano that gathers and gathers
And explodes at the end
Just to do it all over again.

God, I don't know anymore.
We always come back to this point
Where I'm only left with You
And there's no one else.

I've got people who lost trust in me.
I've got people who no longer believe in me.
I don't know what else I have left man.

I'm losing everything.
Everything.
E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.
Except You.
Really, that's all I need?

Why?
Seriously, why?
Honestly... Why?
God... Tell me why...

I know exactly why.
I made this decision ever since day 1.
The ultimate decision that said that Christianity is not a bed of roses.

Luke 9:23 - Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Heh, I chose to follow.
I made that choice.
And I'm paying the price.
Denying myself, all over again.

If this is what it takes,
God, I'll do this all the time.
Just to continue running after You
All the days of my life.

; David

Love from You alone;

2009-06-23T21:58:00.003+08:00

I will not revert to the ways of the world.
I will not revert to my old ways.
I will not revert from God.

I will stop moving in the wrong direction.
I will turn around a whole 180 degrees.
I will walk towards the One who still loves me.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8b
4Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
5It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
8Love never fails.

Amazing how imperfect people love imperfect people. We always try our best to do what it says up there yet like how we are, we can still fail.

I'm tired but I'm still loving you and those around me.

Spiritual Timeline;

2009-06-18T01:40:00.002+08:00

I've gone through alot?
In the past two years alone, I've seen this much change in my own life.

1st day - Accepting Christ (:P), inside Central North A1, Bernard as shepherd!
1 week - Holy Spirit Baptism
1 1/2 months - Joined Core team of Central North A
2 months (First camp: First Frontier) - Central North combined with Central, moved to Central A1.
5 months - Water Baptism (David)
8 months (Second camp: X29) - Plucked out from CA1, moved to CA3 with Bernard, combined with some Central E (Mingquan, etc.) people.
1 year 2 months (Third camp: Oasis) - Finally became a shepherd. (PeiDa)
1 year 4 months - First missions trip (Kuching).
1 year 7 months - Joined Brandon's PCL team.
1 year 8 months (Fourth camp: HEROES) - Seen PeiDa become a shepherd. (Elijah) Brandon leaving CA to CB and Joanne leading CA.
1 year 10 months - CA3 split up. I moved to CA2 with the group.
2 years - Joined Central CL team, changed shepherd (2 years exactly!) to Zachary.
2 years 1 month - Bernard and Joanne moved on to Tertiary.
2 years 2 months (Fifth camp: Unstoppable) - Joined Shirls' CL team, Zachary taking over CANE (as a unit), from CA2 became CANE3.

And here I am, 2 years and 2 months into my spiritual life. So many changes. Time flies... Very fast. Last I remembered, I was a Sec 1 wearing short pants coming to church with a mushroom-styled hair and a flash later I'm in Sec 3 wearing long pants and actually knowing what's style.

I am so amazed at how God works. I never understand why I can last through in Maris Stella for so long (you catch my point). Every single thing falls into His Plan. No matter how weird or hard the change is to accept, I guess at the end of the day, He has His reasons for doing such.

God, I need to go back to my basics again. The reason why I raised my hand to start running that day. The reason why I'm running now. And the reason why I'm going to run for the rest of my life.

Without it, I won't find meaning and purpose.
Life would turn in the other direction.
I'd no longer look to you.
I'd give up.

And thus, I thank You for always reminding me of the reason.

Everyone has their own reason.
When you find yours, you'll understand the true meaning of what it means to have a reason that can last you all the way.

God, this reason will stay with me for all the days of my life.

; Mirror

2009-06-09T01:17:00.004+08:00

Look deep into the mirror. Who do you see? Yourself, of course.

I am that mirror.
I'm clear before all who looks into me.
What you see is what you get.
No less, no more.

If I don't make myself clear, who would choose to follow me?

; David

; Shepherd & Sheep

2009-06-08T00:32:00.003+08:00

I love this picture. A shepherd who goes all out to ensuring his sheep is safe. Why do I say so? This is what a shepherd does in the past. When his sheep is going astray (since they're dumb), he'll use a stick and (of course heart-brokenly) break the sheep's legs to ensure that the sheep will not run further. Here's the catch. The shepherd carries the sheep back.

The shepherd doesn't leave the sheep to die in a random field/valley.
The shepherd doesn't tell it "Haha your fault for being so naughty. Better come back home yourself when you recover ah."
But the shepherd goes the extra mile by using all his strength to bring his sheep home.

The shepherd ensures that the sheep continues going in the right way. Freedom is definitely the sheep's but at the end of the day, the shepherd makes sure that it stays in the right direction.

After Shirls' Shepherds' Meet on Sat, I came to a realisation that I got to give myself a pat on the back. Why?

I saw my sheep sitting right by my side.

I loved that sight. Seeing sheep turning into shepherds, amazing sight. Peida has been by me for a year, and I see him now as a shepherd. Not just a shepherd of people, he's officially a shepherd of God.

I enjoyed spending the time going through the Shepherds' Handbook (which is really nice for all you new shepherds out there!) while laughing with him over how we had those very same experiences.
I repeated the Shepherds' Covenant to him during that very same meeting. (Once in my blog, read history!)

It was an experience like none other. Truly, I know that this shepherd-sheep relationship isn't over yet. There's still so much more for both of us to grow in and live life through together.

PeiDa isn't just a sheep, he's a friend yo.

Let me briefly share how we came together like that. I have served with him ever since I came into Y-Hope, in Central North A1. He was new too so we were new believers together but at that point of time cause it was his brother who brought him and his brother wasn't very stable so he wasn't very stable as well. I matured fast with Bernard taking care of me, got into coreteam and stuff, and during 2008 June camp of Oasis, I still remember this. Bernard asked me "If you could choose as your sheep, who would you choose?" I pondered and replied veryyyy softly "PeiDa." At that point, my life changed. PeiDa became my first sheep.

In the blink of an eye, we have spent a whole year together. I won't say that I have grown him to become so different but I'd say that we both grew together. We did life together!

I'll never give up on him. And I believe he'll not too, on me. Great guy, not just someone I teach, someone I learn from as well. We teach each other all the time. Ah, he'll be one guy I'll never forget.

Last note: Hey dude, I carry you so long alr, don't zao hor ahah.

Love him lots.

; David

Challenge to you shepherds out there: Are you purely feeding your sheep or are you feeding yourself with them?

What are leaders for?

2009-06-06T00:38:00.002+08:00

I've just received a comment from a member saying how leaders are always in their own world rather than caring for what's going on with the people. Personally I realised that I am a victim of that at times as well. Leaders tend to hang out with each other more because there's a *click* there. It happens naturally but something I've learnt from the past is that leadership is a relationship. If the leader does not choose to step down and build on that relationship, the members does not have the willingness to open up as well, and both sides will end up having misunderstandings and such, therefore there needs to have two hands to clap.

Hey guys, you know something. I am always waiting for you to share everything you want to. I've asked each of you "Is there anything?" "Alright so far?" and since you say "Nothing" and "Yea." I treat it as you're saying what you mean. But really, please don't tell me that you're okay if you're not, cause I don't want to see you dropping out of this race just because you're not willing to share what's going on in your life.

I truly sincerely wish to know. If only you're willing to share.

; David

Are we ready?

2009-06-05T01:16:00.005+08:00

What does this picture depict? One word, war.

In a war, you must be prepared, ready. How to?
You need:
- Strategy
- Skill/Power
- Knowledge
- Wisdom

And alot more. But the point I am trying to make here is, many of us really know that we gotta be prepared and ready, and both of them requires us to take time and stepping out from our comfort zone. This is very easy to understand. Who does not need to travel far to strategic spot in order to seek shelter? Or who does not need to find the right weapons and such?

However, I believe in this that as long as we understand the purpose, we no longer look at the requirements. Truly understanding why we're fighting this war. The Japanese suicide bombers were sober, they knew they were gonna die, but they also knew why they were willing to die, therefore they were willing.

We got to seriously know why we're fighting this war.
It ain't just any war. It's a spiritual war.
Which makes it much different from a physical one.
The winners and losers aren't as obvious as Germany in World War 1.
The winning and losing aren't as obvious as 50mins into a DotA game.
Tables can be turned as easily as a Big Two game.

But the point is, who is going to fight? Who will step up and say "I will." Who's going to be the Big Two? Who's going to be the imba hero? Who will?

Going back to the start, I believe that willingness is the first step towards being prepared and ready. If we aren't willing, there's no point, we'll never be ready nor prepared.

In this Unstoppable camp, are you going to be the one who's going to be willing to be changed? Or is this just that other camp you went few months or years ago?

Will you be the one who steps up and tell everyone else "I will be ready, I will be prepared, I will fight this war, I will be _UNSTOPPABLE_."

; David

Woah.

2009-06-04T00:04:00.002+08:00

ENCOURAGEMENT

Who does not need this? Isn't it funny how we all love being encouraged yet on the other hand love to discourage others? It seems so much easier to criticize than to compliment right?

It hit me hard when I realised that I am not as encouraging than I thought myself to be. (Shame alert!) But I knew that if I was gonna grow, I got to know. I accepted that fact, and have committed myself into this leadership practice picked up from the Leadership Challenge workshop I attended for 2 whole days - Encourage the Heart.

I am super determined into ensuring that I become more encouraging towards the people around me. After hearing stories how much impact encouragement can make, especially from a story in Fedex, I am so so so ENCOURAGED to ENCOURAGE others!

I want to make others feel powerful,
not powerless.

; David

Caregroup;

2009-06-02T22:28:00.003+08:00

My caregroup may not be the smartest,
It may not be the biggest,
It may not be the ideal,
It may not be the funnest,
It may not be the strongest,
It may not have the most spiritual leaders,
It may not have the most quality-filled people,

But my caregroup at the end of the day is still my caregroup.
I thank God that it still loves Him,
I thank God that it still grows,
I thank God that people stay,
I thank God that I'm not alone,
I thank God that I still have this caregroup to go through life with.

But again, my caregroup isn't at its best yet.
It has not reached its peak.
It has not reached its deepest valleys.
It has not reached where God wants it to be.
I'm darn pretty sure of this that this group is just at its birth.

This is my caregroup, what's yours?

; David

HELP!

2009-05-25T22:29:00.002+08:00

Few more days of school, I can do this! Haha. Been wanting to upload photosss but school's killing me alot recently. Ahhhhh. And I'm still having DIARRHEA! (Managed to spell that one!) Godd help! *runs back to toilet*

; David

2009-05-19T19:31:00.001+08:00

I'm sick sick sick, SERIOUSLY sick. And that is seriously getting on my nerves, feeling like vomitting every few mins that have passed, yeah.

15th birthday!

2009-05-17T20:56:00.003+08:00

Let's put my birthday in one sentence. Imagine a day where I could serve happily, remember the evangelism fire burn, learning a principle, listen to an amazing preacher, have a reminder from God, receiving a "diary of my secret admirer", eating two awesome chocolate cakes, spending the entire day from morning to night with the best people I've known, the last few minutes with my family, woah. It's super fulfilling.

I'm typing this post now and I've got a 1001 thoughts I want to pen(type) down! Yet I promised myself not to spend too much time here. Sigh. It's alright, I'll take timeee. Hahas. Just one thought.

I used to tell myself that life is a roller coaster ride. When we go up, it's always going down after that. And vice versa. Also, the higher we go up, the lower our fall is, to ensure that the ride is balanced. Of course, it's still this way. I still fear when I'm going down, but don't we all know that going down is the exciting part of the ride?

A quote I've read from the book Zach gave me for my birthday, the "You can't be a smart cookie if you've got a crummy attitude" hahas.

"God chooses what we go through; we choose how we go through it" - John Maxwell

God has planned everything for me. (Sometimes it becomes so fixed-in like a jigsaw puzzle that I find it obvious that it's Him) There's a valley before me, will I choose to walk through it with faith or in fear? When God puts me in a desert, will I choose to search and seek for what He has or rot to my death?

It is always a choice. Choice depends on my attitude. I don't know how else to emphasis on this. If I keep having a mindset of "It's over", "I lost.", yes, indeed I have lost, not to anything else, but myself. The attitude plays an important part in holding tight. With the wrong attitude, there'll definitely be wrong choices, and there'll most certainly be wrong consequences.

I've to admit, I am a victim of this. Especially after the SA1, I've been worrying about my results and all, yet I still talk to God how I really hand every papers unto Him. It's only till I got hit that I realised how God already planned all these, it's a matter of whether I'm going to accept it or not. Whether I'm going to really learn to hand it to Him or not.

No matter what I've expected, no matter how much I've studied, at the end of the day, I just know that I gave my best, and that's the attitude I want to keep.

I don't know about you, but I still want to ride on this roller coaster, whether it goes up or down.

; David

I was bored.

2009-05-17T01:03:00.000+08:00

104 words

Typing Test

I was bored so I did this. I'm deproving at typing. Bah. T_T

; David

Happy birthday!

2009-05-16T00:36:00.001+08:00

Happy 15th Birthday David!

; David

[12/5] What a coincidence;

2009-05-12T23:36:00.002+08:00

Been thinking about this, especially since it's the exam period.

Before our papers, GOALS are our motivations AND/OR discouragements.
During our papers, ANSWERS are our motivations AND/OR discouragements.
After our papers, EXPECTATIONS are our motivations AND/OR discouragements.

I've set my goals. All of them motivated me.
I've seen my answers. Some motivated, some discouraged.
I've seen my expectations. Some that are much different from my goals create discouragements, while the rest are simply motivations.

What are the motivations & discouragements in your life?
Whatever that motivates, let it continue to spur you on.
Whatever that discourages, learn from it and turn into some motivating.
After all, discouragements are a hinder, no help at all.

; David

4 DAYS TO MY DAY!!!<3

UNSTOPPABLE camp is coming!

2009-05-11T01:09:00.004+08:00

Few random thoughts in my head recently, mostly ramblings about my life. An example is Flag day, that happens to be on the 16th of May, that's for people who are 15 and above, which happens to be on someone's 15th birthday... me. No coincidence, I doubt so. A chance for me to serve more? Guess so. I still remember how I am so eager to do Flag Day last year, yet this time round, after knowing what day is it on, it seems to deter me from doing so.

Yet I still tell myself, if God wants me to use this very day to give the many youths in Singapore, why not? Those who give will be given, right? And for once, I'd like to see that instead of only me getting to enjoy myself on the day, I want to let other less fortunate people be happy as well, isn't that the most enjoyable sight? True, it looks like a wasted day a few days ago, but come to think about it, I don't mind at all. Not one bit. I'll be able to spend my birthday with the people close to me from the early morning to late night, hallelujah, love ya God for this arrangement.

It's wonderful, it's simply w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l.

; David

P.S. 5 DAYS TO MY DAY!!!

Ah. Exams.

2009-05-10T00:53:00.002+08:00

I thought this week was gonna be a looooong week. Didn't know exam week would pass so fast, especially since papers are crammed two in a day for consecutively 5 days.

Some updates on my papers.. Social Studies and History, both being the spotting-questions made me spot the wrong questions! It was something like, out of 2 essays I only spotted one right. Argh. Hope I didn't screw up much. Physics and Chemistry are like magnets, when one's postive, the other side's negative. After looking at my F9 in CA1 for Physics, I thought Physics would screw up again (possibly), yet seeing this time round, Chemistry might be a problem.. Of course not getting a fail for Chemistry.. (One of my fav subjects!)

Yea. There's two more papers next week. Specifically A Math and Chinese P2. One's more of a method-formula revision, the other doesn't need to study anymore, (They removed all the word-memorising and sentence-forming stuff, yay!) Not really much to study, good thing, sorta.

Ohoh, I got the most exciting news yet!

GUESS WHOSE BIRTHDAY'S COMING UP IN ONLY 7 DAYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

:D

; David

First down;

2009-05-04T22:38:00.002+08:00

ENGLISH IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

And boy was it hard. The letter and the compo was easy, but compre was pure torture. All about GOLD. Ahhh. God help!

Ohoh, before I continue with the rest of my papers, let's set goals!

Geography - A1
History/SS - A1
Chinese - B3
English - B3
E Math - B3
A Math - A1
Physics - B4
Chemistry - A1

I need God in this. Definitely. Not a easy target but it is what I aim for. God is with me on this! :D

Short post, gotta go back to studying Geog! 101 pages!!!

; David

Stress;

2009-05-03T22:37:00.007+08:00

I realised that many people lately are complaining of the number one word(especially during this period of time)...

STRESS

The killer word. And I got to put this straight. Cause this is the main point.

STRESS ≠ BUSY

I have no idea how else I can put this. I admit though, I am a victim of this. I always associate stress with the amount of work I have on hand and the datelines I face. Yet I have never told myself that it is always how I feel. Guess the main motivation of stress, if you know, it's worry. When you worry, stress comes in automatically.

What does the bible say about worry then? Sidetrack a little, if any of you feel a need to know in detail why you should not worry during this hectic time, read this article! Just click on me! Moving on, I want to look at what God tells me to do when I start worrying.

This is my memory verse before my papers.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Hard to understand? Look at the New Living Translation.

1 Peter 5:7(NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

God puts it straight smacked into my face. What else is there to do with the worries? Give it to Him. That's all. For the next couple of days, I'll be covering certain areas that I myself feel a need to be reminded of during this crazy period.

For now, I only know one effective thing I got to do.

PRAY

; David

English paper tomorrow, 1 hour break inbetween paper 1 and 2, wonder what's there to do...

Serving God;

2009-05-03T01:02:00.003+08:00

Getting back to the basics, how many of us remember what is serving God all about? I was asked this question. It hit me. Hard and bad. I brought me back to my first few weeks, people telling me things like..

"Serving God is the best thing to do ever!"
"Let's serve God to our best and God will do the rest!"
"Serve God all the way, never give up."

I mean like, what's serving God in the first place? I've thought through this, and had many answers like..

"Serving God is following Him all the days of my life."
"Serving God is growing more Christ-like each day."

There's so many answers. Each of you has your own answer to that question. But that's the one answer that keeps every single one from serving the ministry but serve God instead. After all, whose ministry is this?

The thing is, I'm learning to go back to that answer every single day. To remind myself day after day so that I will not stray away from what I have to do. I need that. I don't know about you, but I definitely need reminders, I do not want God to start questioning me,"Have you been serving me?". Ouch.

That is why, at the end of this, I'd like to ask you, think deeply,
"What is serving God to you?"
Cause if we do not remember that, we're not serving God.

; David

For One More Day

2009-04-23T23:22:00.003+08:00

I've been reading this book called For One More Day, picked it up in the school's library since read The Five People You Meet In Heaven & Tuesdays with Morrie already. This book, like the rest, has a purpose behind it, revolving around this question,"What would you do if you have one more day with someone you lost?". I'll go into the book deeply once I finish it (I'm halfway there!) yea! For now, I want to think along this lines,"What would I do if I have one more day with someone I'm going to lose?".

Shouldn't I be living like this all the time, instead of regretting only when that day is over and I lose the person? It triggers in me how we, as humans, always and never fail to experience this fact that we only cherish things after we lose them. And we never learn from it. There's a Chinese saying, translated that "Cherish what's before you now, or regret after you lose it." Yet no matter what, we always forget about this.

Isn't it funny?
We do this all the time.

Plus, when we cherish things so much, the time we lose it, we're gonna break down even worse. Yet, there will not be a sense of regret will there? Because I cherished it, and there is no need for me to cry over it cause I gave my best in keeping it well. The relationship with a lost one, a simple wallet, so much more.

I laugh at us,
Cause we never ever learn.

; David

Your Love;

2009-04-20T22:59:00.003+08:00

Been writing this song down for the past 2+ days, it's upbeat and all, just need the chords in. Feel free to give constructive criticism and feedback!

Your Love

Verse 1:
I can't explain it
It's this feeling inside
I don't know how
But it's indescribable
It is indescribable

Pre-Chorus:
And though this world is full of love
It's never enough to satisfy my heart

Chorus 1:
Your Love is the reason I live for
Your Love is the thing that keeps me going
Your Love is like none other I've seen
Your Love is what's between You and me

Verse 2:
You held me so high
You showed it to me
You lifted my eyes
To see what I couldn't see
See what I couldn't see

Pre-Chorus
Chorus 1

Chorus 2:
When You told me that it has been done
The death I knew was overcome
You gave Your life to set me free
It was the way back to Your Love again

Bridge:
I could sing of it forever
Your Love is overflowing
Call me foolish if they want
But I will choose to (pause)
Jump up high and sing!

Chorus 1
Chorus 2

Yea! Hahas, I enjoyed every part of creating this song, but still feel it needs tweaking in its lyrics, help me! :) Thank you!

; David

Leadership is NOT reading;

2009-04-13T22:25:00.001+08:00

"Leadership, like playing a musical instrument, cannot be learnt by just reading or watching."

; David

Oh oh oh Oh.

2009-04-12T22:29:00.002+08:00

There are always things for me to do. God, I got to hand it to You, after I finish doing a whole lot of stuff, and I've gone through a while of break, I simply tell You that I need a little work to occupy some time, You dropped me a bomb. I don't know whether to start screaming or praising You when the bomb first dropped. But in the end I still believe, it's still in Your control at the end.

Has anyone considered where this saying is from? "God will never give us more than we can handle." It's not found in the Bible, not in direct context to be exact. So, how have I learnt this? From the leaders who told me? Or from experience itself? From a more recent activity, cross country.

I had 800m left to go, length wasn't for me.
I had 20 people in front of me, people wasn't my motivation.
I had a full meal about 15 minutes before the race, my stomach wasn't helping at all.
The Sun was frying me, the wind blowing against me, nature was my enemy.
The muscles within were running out of energy, strength is no more.
The strongest weapon in me, the mind, had no mind of its own anymore, will is gone.
I was prepared to let go, but not ready to give up. So how?
The next best choice, to let God.

I looked up, saw a cloud shaped like an eagle. A song came into my head with a slow melody... When the oceans rise and thunders roar... I will soar with you above the storm... Father You are King over the flood... I will be Still... And know You're God... I had the song going in my head all the way while running. I knew the strength within me wasn't mine anymore, at that point, all I felt was this presence surrounding me as I looked upon the eagle. At that point, I felt, God. I started the race telling Him, "Let's run this, together." And when I turned into the finishing line area, the eagle was out of sight, and I saw one person in front of me. I regained one ounce of strength from the period of not-mine-strength and ran with my might. Getting past him, I finished the cross country with 12th. Thank God.

That's how it's like to experience God, and I believe that everyone has their own times when they experience this saying,"God never gives me more than I can handle." What about you?

; David

What

2009-04-08T23:45:00.000+08:00

I've lost it;

2009-04-06T23:01:00.003+08:00

I'm still trying to grow to be slow in anger.
First it was my computer, why do you always have to screw up when I'm doing things like projects and playing DotA with the bros YET never screw up when I'm doing other less important things?

God, You understand me most.
You know what I'm going through best.
I need everything You can do to help me in this.
There's so many things that makes me explode.
I need to find joy in You.
I need to find the peace in You.
I need... You...

; David

Leaders are still people who face problems,
Just like you.
We are still imperfect,
Just like you.
We make mistakes,
Just like you.
We sin(Is that a new discovery for ya?),
Just like you.
We tend to screw up at times,
Just like you.

But we learn from such times,
And would you too learn to accept us?

I need.

2009-04-05T01:53:00.001+08:00

I need.
I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need. I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need.
I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need. I need.

You. (:

; David

Time.Is.Running.Out.

2009-04-02T23:11:00.004+08:00

TIME. IS. RUNNING. OUT.

I don't know about you, but I kinda just got triggered. You see, recently things have been going at like, the speed of light, and I'm stopping for nothing, but going out for everything. Look back at my previous posts, it all shows. It's all about achieving, scoring, etc. When have I ever learnt the answer to this simple question?

I've got a planner, and on top of it, every month, there'll be a question/sentence to remind me during that period of time. My April's one is "What am I living for?". The answer for me is,"Today."

I learn that there's is no time like the present. If there's something I gotta do about, it's today. If I'm going to continue thinking about what's happening two weeks later, etc., it's going to kill me eventually. Today has enough, why do I have to go further than that?

If I don't hold today properly, it's going to carry on for tomorrow, and so on. No way, I'm not going to let that happen anymore. As I know, time is running out. The clock is ticking second after second, we're all reaching the end soon. I don't have to look at the whole world, it all starts with where I am now, my school, family, life.

If I don't do something today,
Who will do it?

; David

Red letter;

2009-03-29T21:42:00.002+08:00

The red letter; Particularly significant, memorable for a special occasion...

You know what I feel about the red letter I received? It's a result of commitment in my life. When I committed myself to studying hard for Christ, I gave my best in it, and this is a result.

Of course, I am not saying that by studying hard for Christ, excelling, then I'll get a form of physical reward but I am looking at it this way.

Matthew 5:12a Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven

As I continue being committed to the various areas in my life, I believe that the red letters are accumulating themselves up there and I'll wait for the day when I finish, God presents them one by one to me. How cool is that? Oh-so-cool.

Let me share about its story first haha. On Friday, I received a message from Daniel telling me that I've been nominated for a excellence in studies award, so I was kinda excited for it! But, I thought it was a Central Vision Night thing or something like that. Saturday came, and as we prepared for CVN during noon time, I talked to Brandon and this is how the conversation went.

"Hey bk, later the award thingy, where's the backstage arh?"
"Backstage here." *he points me out of America room*
"I thought backstage means behind the screen?"
"Behind the screen what, see." *points again*
"Huh? I talking about America room leh."
"Why America room? Later we'll be lining up at backstage leh?"
"Wait, isn't the award for later?"
"Yup, after praise and worship."
"It's for SERVICE?!"
"You didn't know?"

Laughed at myself after that! Waa, that was a crazy experience hahas. But yea, it was cool going on stage to receive an award! Remember it for life manz.

Yea, as I was saying, haha! I thank God for the physical red letter received on Saturday! It's not just a financial help but it's a great encouragement! I need it a lot, especially since I have been really starting to get dry over my studies. Thank Youuuu! Also, thank God for the one more spiritual red letter accumulated, I'll be waiting to receive it! :D

Thanks, a lot.

; David

Even when I'm rejoicing over so much,
Why are some of us so dejected?
Why are some of us not noticing anything at all?
Is it just me,
Or has everyone lost their minds?

Jack of all trades, master of none;

2009-03-29T02:35:00.003+08:00

I've always wondered about my whole life, kinda mixed and all-rounded, nothing special? Whenever I think about my life, I feel that I'm a Jack-of-all-trades and as we know, the saying after that. Master of none. Honestly, I feel that in all areas, it's always above average or even close to the best of others, yet never the best. Studies, ministry, CCA, music-playing and so much more. But you know how I feel about this? I used to feel that it sucks having such a life, nothing that's super excelling in, yet when I think now, I feel that the Pareto principle is so true in my life.

The principle is also known as the 80/20 principle, when we achieve more by having less. Daily habits wise, we call 20% or even lesser from the much more 80% friends we have in our contact list, or using 80% more money than needed to satisfy that 20% amount of food needed in the stomach. In my context, I've got the 20% extra input that gives me the 80% results I need over everyone else.

Yawns. I wanna be a specialising generalist. Renaissance men they call such people. This is what I'm holding on for now, that God did not create me only this substandard-ness I can do but He has so much more to use me in. God, use me.

; David

Is everything falling apart again?
Didn't we go through this once before?
Why is it happening again?
God, can you help us?
I don't wanna see us breaking.
I want to see us growing,
Like before.

First day of the term;

2009-03-23T22:20:00.004+08:00

Not going to continue on my kayaking adventure, until my last day of 2-star is fulfilled(I've to go for one make-up day!), which is during the June holidays, hais. So I'm a 1.5 star kayaker haha! At least I managed to learn quite a couple of skills.

Skills picked up during 1-star and 2-star kayaking:
- Capsize Drill
- Rafted T-X Rescue
- J-Draw
- Classic Draw
- Sculling Draw
- Sweep Stroke
- T-X Rescue
- Kayak-To-Swimmer Rescue
- Eskimo Bow Rescue
- Eskimo Rescue(This is crazy! Capsizing yourself then flipping back up)
- Low Brace Turn
- Low Support Recovery
- High Support Recovery

That's one lot of skills. The time was well spent though. Moving on!
(OHOH, WE WORE SKIRTS HAHA! And PeiDa did something obscene to the boat.)

Anyway, I was going to talk about my first day of school.

I started off by going to a polyclinic cause my ear was blocked for 2 days... Dad and I ended up waiting for 2 hours, even though we reached 30mins before it opened. (Social Studies helped me to be mentally prepared for such a waiting time). Was given some olive oil, the doctor said that while kayaking the water pressure caused whatever that was in my ear to go all the way in and stuck. Ouch. Supposed to go back 3 weeks later for an appointment.

I reached school about 9.40, everyone was surprised to see me haha. Went through the whole day with a blocked ear(supposed to go through this for another 2 weeks+!) ahh. Thank God had nothing after school so went home, showered, changed and came out again to my favourite place in Singapore - Bishan. I'm starting to get bored of the placeeeeeeee! And so did my homework there, helped Bernard to compile his stuff and sorta broke fast with the rest at S11.

Played basketball after that with Mingquan and John. Really happy cause I found my own style of shooting that's very accurate! :D Scored about 4 in a row in the initial match, 11-6, and a few more in the second, 11-7. Left the court a happy kid. (:

Went home after that, super shagged. And it's 10.30 already. I don't wanna go school tomorrow! The thought of seeing my Chinese teacher early in the morning makes me wanna cry haha! :x It's okay, I'll endure through the day. Why? Cause WEDNESDAY'S E-LEARNING DAY! NO SCHOOL! :D Yaye!

Time to talk to my friend. :D Bye!

; David

Kayaking;

2009-03-21T00:29:00.002+08:00

Most of ya should know that my holidays have been so packed that it does not feel like a holiday haha! I'm doing 5 of out of 9 days of KAYAKING, sounds fun? I thank God I finished my 1 star at last! Doing 2 star over the next two days(yes, the last two days of the holiday, sigh.), getting over and done with this once and for all!

I'm kinda bored so gonna share two weird stuff that I found from the past few days, coming from personal experience haha!

You get cuts that you can't even see

We're using the fiberglass kayak, meaning that it is made out of...? Fiberglass(Cool huh?). Basically, while kayaking, this fiberglass tends to get onto your skin and it makes your skin prickly and cause you to feel piercing pain when you touch an area with fiberglass on it. Worst thing is, you can feel it, but you can't see it. Ouch.

When you're out in open waters, never ever try to look for the bottom.

First thing, cause we were on one side of the "reservoir"(KALLANG!) and it was more shallow so the sludge beneath the water could be felt easily. The moment you touch it, the water turns black and the smell(smells like crap, literallyyy.) comes out and everyone around you's not gonna rescue you anymore haha!

Anyone had similar experience kayaking there? Haha!

; David

GOKU!

2009-03-15T23:47:00.002+08:00

I watched Dragonball Evolution with Matthew today, it's a good show! Hahas, great storyline but short story. Oh well, enjoyed the show anyways. Will talk about it soon, but gonna mention some quotes in the show that keep in my head, or else gonna forget about them soon.

"The first rule is, there are no rules."
"Senses are overrated, we need to feel more."
"Normal is overrated, what's wrong with being different?"
"Always have faith in who you are.

See you!

; David

Direction;

2009-03-13T22:55:00.002+08:00

So many arrows,
Only one is right.

The past couple of weeks have been really tiring for me, coping with many areas. Thank God for the last few days of the term, giving me time to reach out to people. Guess who's coming tomorrow from my list? No one at all. I was pretty upset over this, after trying so hard, especially on Friday when I really attempted to give out the remaining cards I had on hand. Of course, God never fails to surprise me, eh?

I'll see what's in stored for me tomorrow.
God, lead the way.

; David

A leader paves the way for others only after someone paved the way for him first.

Results!

2009-03-09T23:23:00.002+08:00

Finally, got back the last paper of my Common Test.

Without further ado... My results.

David's Common Test 1 Results:
English - 60% [B4]
Chinese - 62% [B4]
E Math - 48% [D7]
A Math - 70% [A2]
Chemistry - 68% [B3]
Physics - 35% [F9]
Geography - 87% [A1]
Elective History/SS - 86% [A1]

Total average: 516/800 - 64.5% [B4]
L1R5: 15
L1R4: 11

Guess what. Physics sucked, only 5 people passed in class, and unfortunately I'm not one of them. I screwed up E Math, tons of careless mistakes here and there. Guess again, I needed that. I got back E Math and Physics as my first few papers so were totally discouraged by that, but paper after paper proved wrong. Especially today getting back my Geography, big surprise. Yup.

Ah, continue tomorrow. Doing this very late at night, mom isn't happy. :x

; David

Walking on Water;

2009-03-07T00:24:00.004+08:00

What's the point of me knowing someone who walks on water when I don't follow him in doing so?

; David

David's Reminder

2009-03-04T21:31:00.002+08:00

God sent me a reminder. Not just any reminder. He sent me a reminder that hit me in the face.

He sent me a letter, and here's what it says.

Dear David,

You asked me for a reminder during the Common Test, so I send you not only one, but two. This reminder serves to tell you that even when you work to your hardest, and you have the utmost confidence in the paper, it does not guarantee your A1. I will not tell you much, try understanding it.

Love you and always by your side still,
God

To be continued tomorrow.

; David

Momentum, Motivation, Proportion.

2009-02-22T22:43:00.002+08:00

Look at the above graph for a moment. Now, replace the y-axis(The Cost(Dollars) if you do not know) with Motivation. Then, replace the x-axis(Volume) with Momentum. What am I trying to bring across here? Motivation and Momentum are in direct proportion.

We see this all the time in our daily lives. There are many, but I shall only list two as examples.

1. Studies

Classic example. When you score that 18/20 for your first Math test, won't you be motivated to further excel in Math? And maintain that score and even improve to maintain a 20/20? It's natural, when we start to excel in something, we'll put more work into it to ensure it excels further.

2. Sports

Shoot the ball into the hoop, everyones loves the sound. 2 points! Wow. Leading the game. We're finishing it, just 4 more points! When we see ourselves getting a score in basketball of 17-8, won't we be motivated to further finish the game, knowing that we have that already momentum?

It is a natural human process.

Increase in Momentum = Increase in Motivation = Increase in Overall(In this case, the gradient)

Likewise,

No Momentum = No Motivation = Constant Overall

HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO THIS.

Yes, increase in momentum may cause a person to have a decrease motivation. Take it from a friend of mine(no names), he scored so well, wow, envious at work. He gets A1's for nearly everything, I see an A once in a while. The problem is, he does not keep them to score more A's, he lets them go, one by one. Slowly I saw him deprove, and from there I saw how momentum can cause a downfall. It's that true.

Guess what, I started this post with a graph telling you how momentum and motivation affected each other. But let me share this to you.

Motivation is A key.

No matter how high or low our momentum can be, as long as we have no motivation, we're gonna fail, big time. Motivation is what we need to see things happen. Without motivation, we might not last.

In spite of all these that I have been talking about, I just want to finish off with this quote I've read in a book, no author known.

Success never comes to those who sit and stare. It comes to only those who act and dare.

Look at what I said, motivation is A key, not THE key. There may be many other keys, but there's one more that's important today. Momentum. Hear me alright.

Momentum is A key.

Without momentum, what's the point? We need momentum, instead of just blank motivation where we stare into space. With momentum, we actually make things happen, not just see. Got that right.

Motivation sees things happen.
Momentum makes things happen.

I'll finish off.
When we see motivation and momentum, we must have both of them. Because, without either, it's pointless, you can see from above. Both are equally important, like the body and the head. Therefore, we really really need to grow in both, and it should never stop, so that we can see what we want to see.

To make changes,
We have first see the changes in our head,
Then make the changes, together.

; David

State of Unreadiness;

2009-02-20T22:38:00.003+08:00

I admit, I'm not perfect.
Does that sound like it comes from someone who does well in studies, sports, cca, and more?
No. But it's a fact. There are many a time I feel like giving up. That's true, why? Cause I'm feeling like it now.

I've been through alot with ya, soon to be two years? I've seen you grow. When I look back, how we both grew together, man, I see a great difference. However, I urge you not to give up now, come on, we've gone through so much together, how can you? We promised each other that we'll finish this race, no matter how hard it takes. And as each step we take, we'll run with more people, remember? Come on, we can do this. I believe in ya. I have that trust in you that no one can take away, cause it built up as strong as our friendship. I still believe that you can be so much greater, we just have to do this together, like how we did from Day 1. Bro, if you ever see this, understand this isn't the end, there's no point giving up yet, kay?

If you're still wondering, yes, the above is for you my sheepo.

I. Need. To. Stand. Strong.
Not just strong, but strong-er.

I'm being tested time and time again, I'm like some Job la haha. It's okay, I need this. In order for the scar to be left, and the scar that reminds me that I've been through this, I can go further. Not a scar to be resentful of, but to be reminded. David, you have persevered for so long, but it's time to increase that perseverance of yours, you need it, or else it won't last in the long run.

I lift it all unto your hands.

; David

Thank you;

2009-02-16T23:02:00.003+08:00

Dear You,

Thank you for all the blessings in my life, appreciate them alot.
Thank you for all the trials in my life, they have grown me alot.
Thank you for all the miracles in my life, they cheer me up alot.
Thank you for all the healings in my life, they strengthen me alot.

Thank you for all the problems I could not handle, they show me how much I need you.
Thank you for all the help and support in my life, they show how much you are to me.

Thank you for everything.

I learn to find joy in you, in all circumstances.

I will not stop here,
There's always new things to thank You for,
Every. Single. Day.

; David

HS conquer me once again;

2009-02-13T22:04:00.003+08:00

Is this... burden I'm feeling in me? It's been a long time.

I don't get why everyone follows YOU. Should I go all Christ-freak and not care of the world? Does it work that way? I don't get it anymore. You are FOREVER one step faster than me, somehow. I've tried time and time again to see the tables turning. This feeling I'm getting in me is crying out loud.

No matter how this ESS may suck for me, it has awakened me. The spirit that burns so heavily within my soul, it's conquering me once again. Guess what, no more fooling. It's February. There's barely a few months in a year. I just wasted one and a half.

Hear me loud and clear.
This is my cry and desire.
I will chase after the heart of His,
And win the hearts of the people.

On the plus side however,
Thank you for breaking me from my comfort zone,
You just woken the spirit that rests,
And it's back for a time of beginning again.

I'm giving my all once again. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will anymore. I will go the extra mile once again, to see people's lives being changed. My vision's to see people rising after another, the sheep pen grows more and more, for the glory of this latter house will greater than the former.

Spirit, prompt me.
I will obey.
I will follow.
I will finish
and win this race.

; The Race Finisher

GUITAR;

2009-02-03T23:02:00.002+08:00

Giving up my dreams
Passion that burns so vigorously
When finally I'm serious about a plan
It had to be ruined

I feel so screwed
Nothing is going right
Plans vanish into thin air
After being planned for nights

The 24-frets
The humbucker
The LTD
The pick-ups

Think again
All I can do now
Is to look beyond my limits
And think of solutions

I will work hard
Harder and harder
To finally be able
To get that new best friend

Trust me, I will.

; David

Restructuring;

2009-01-29T20:31:00.004+08:00

Know what, I was ready for this when it was first told to me last Saturday.
Now? I don't feel that ready anymore. I mean, Joanne coming in to lead the unit and Brandon moving is something I'm rather ready for but the interesting changes? Not so ready anymore.

I'm not ready for this.

Who knows?
My speculations were alright for a moment. No matter how impatient I was, I knew that the changes would be for greater purposes, following God's Plan. Until one day before a meeting, I feel so much different. I'd have to adapt to the changes. No matter leader or not, I feel the same pressure as a David who's facing his Goliath. Will I take it on like a boy with no armor but a slingshot, or attempt to take on an armor that isn't mine and try to win? This isn't just any giant, this is the giant that strikes fear into my heart, the one who tells me,"You can NEVER do this. Give up already.".

God tells me,
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Haha, God never fails to be there for me, that's why I really look forward to quiet time. My thoughts before and after, are so much different. I guess, no matter how I'm not ready for this, I'll be prepared, cause I know that God will be there to guide me.

My prayer today, God, guide me. Help me to know that Your Plan is always perfect. Help me understand that You never make mistakes, no matter how many I make. I know You'll be there for me, Amen.

Giant - Fear
God - Assurance

; David

Well well.

2009-01-25T00:54:00.002+08:00

Giants upon giants
They come one by one
One.
By one.

; David

Investiture!

2009-01-20T23:11:00.000+08:00

My weeks are getting busier and busier by the minute.
I need to find rest~ Going to Him all the weak and wearyy...

Ahh, Father, I need to find rest in You for this time. (:

Phillipians 4:13 I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (:
I'm holding on to this all the time!<3

; David

Going for Hwa Chong Investiture tomorrow... So much fun... Haha!

Wheeee.

2009-01-19T23:33:00.001+08:00

The group lacks.
Once again.
Oh God,
How long will this go on?

David needs desperate help from God.

; David

CNY DMA

2009-01-16T16:41:00.000+08:00

Done during CCA using Illustrator. See youuuu.

; David

Dear Father.

2009-01-15T22:40:00.002+08:00

Something I caught from the book(picked up at Trumpet Praise) I've just read finish today, Everyday deserves a Chance, by Max Lucado.

Psalm 118:24 Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Today - Not yesterday, not tomorrow, at least, not yet. TODAY is the day. No other day, but today. You ask, when is the best time to do anything? Today! When is the best day of the week to you? Friday? Saturday? Sunday? Nope, it's today! (: Why regret yesterday, when yesterday is over? Why worry over tomorrow, when today has enough problems already? Take a day at a time, God didn't go by seconds, nor years, he did everything in days. One day at a time.

Will - It didn't say I should, nor I might. It said I WILL. Since TODAY is the day God made, then isn't it obvious that it'll be alright? So why not we WILL rejoice? Since He made this day, there isn't any reason for us to be sad over it right? When we know He made it, no matter boring the Chinese teacher may be, no matter how tiring are those 3-English-periods, God says, we will still be glad. (:

In - Did someone said they'd rather rejoice and be glad after the day? Or over so that after the day we can say,"The day is FINALLY over.". You see, it all links. When we know God made this day, and we know He wants us to be glad and rejoice, we will do it IN the day itself. No matter how bad the day is going, we'll still be the ones who say,"Thank God for that teacher who just ran my neck down, I'm growing in patience and teachability.". When we are glad while we're running the day, it makes the day alot easier for us.

I leave this message for tonight, Make everyday a good day, and we build a good life, right?

; David

P.S. I love Max's boooksss~ (:

Woah.

2009-01-11T23:51:00.003+08:00

Love God, Love people.

God, must I?
Yes I must.
Why?
Cause only if I love people, I learn to love You together.
Alright.

; David

Free!

2009-01-11T03:33:00.002+08:00

I got my Merit Bursary Award today! After a very very boring 2 hour long ceremony, I endured through and received my envelope that contained a $250 cheque! (:

So let's see... I've got a huge list of things to buy.

- Electric Guitar
- PC Tablet(BAMBOOOOOOOOOOOOO)
- Nintendo DS(My new love D:)
- Makeover closet

All added to my to-buy list. Thank God Chinese New Year's around the corner, due to the crisis and all... I'd probably only get about $250~ While I know alot of people around me get about $1000... Haha. It's okay, I can live with that. (:

I intend to get a 2nd-hand electric guitar with amp, which would save me money.
Borrow a tablet from the school to try it out first, which would save me money.
Borrow a Nintendo DS, which would save me money.
Makeover closet, Dad requested for me to use my $250 to makeover the closet... Ahh.

David's starting to learn to shop smart and save on un-necessary items. Hooray!

; David

Decisions, decisions.

2009-01-09T22:58:00.003+08:00

Sometimes don't you wish you don't have to make any decision at all...?

Haha. I'm extremely tight for tomorrow.

List of things I have to be at tomorrow:
CCA Maze - 8am-11/12?
Bursary Awards - 3.15pm?
Service - 2.30pm-5pm(which is slightly impossible for me) or 12.15pm-2.30pm(can find the new Beatty guy)

Alright, let's see.

Decisions I can choose to make:

1. Go for CCA maze till 11am, be back home and prepare for Bursary Awards, after that head back down for after-service.

2. Go for CCA maze till 12noon, head for 1st service, then go for Bursary Awards, followed by after-service.

3. Go for CCA maze till 12noon, head for 1st service, then 2nd service, and try to skip the BA while getting the $250. :x

4. Stay at home, wake up late, be down for service.

I'd choose number 4 over ANY of them... I'm really praying that I do not have to attend the Bursary thingy, it'll end at 5... Brr.

Worst come to worst... I'll go with number 2. I'll be the busiest guy on Saturday haha. And at the end of the day, I'll give myself a pat on the back and tell myself,"You've done a good job.". Yea right. :P But yeaa, I think I'm going with number 2, see how things go first. If my CCA maze ends late... I can't make it. Ahhhhh. ):

David needs God.
He needs Decisions.
Therefore, God = My Decisions.
PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

; David

Sec 1 Camp!

2009-01-06T22:57:00.003+08:00

Nothing much tonight~
Just wanna talk about this phrase that every teacher etc. has been saying for these few days, "Setting the tone right."

This is something I have to settle before I start going on the wrong direction for this year.

Academically speaking, I've already started yawning in Chinese classes(first two of the yearrr, uhoh), been abit sleepy in Math(boring INDICES!), I'm gonna have to start waking up for this year, if not my CA1 is well, blatantly put, screwed.

Pastoral side, I don't want 2009 to be like 2007/2008, it's been far too long. I either complete the school this year, or I don't, and the future generation will have to bear the consequences of what I've not done and they have to rebuild the foundation again. I faced this in 2007, seeing that the previous generation only built 2 of the next, which isn't enough. I have to see that I've at least 7 Sec 1/2 '10 + 1 CL-to-be by the end of 2010, my minimum goal~ Of course, I've higher goals than that, drafting up an action plan and goal setting for this year. To set the tone right, is for me to start outreach next week, after the Sec 1 camp, where they are finally settled down in this school! ^^

Ministry wise, I've risen, and I need to pick up the skills of the various departments or else when my members need guidance I can't help... Then there's no point of me being around right? Haha. Setting the tone right here is to attend the courses that Aloyy's starting this month, woahh.

I've got a packed January, plus February's Common Test month... Ahh.

Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

I'm holding tight to this verse, starting tomorrow.

Finish this post with this.

I'M GOING FOR SEC 1 CAMP, SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!

*yawns*

; David

Happy Birthday Sheepo!

2009-01-05T21:06:00.003+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEIDA!

Happy 15th Birthday! Quite fast arhh... Haha. Wanna wish you a happy birthday, and a happy year ahead. We'll go through this year together Amen? It's time for us to grow! Remember our convictions and visions together, we'll never let them go. We have barely 2 years left in this crazy school and we're not even finished 10% of what we planned to do! Let's strive to finish as much as possible within 2009 alright? Double CG09, we can do this together. (: Jiayou bah sheepo, you came under me ever since last year June, but I believe that we're not just sheep&shep, we're best brothers man haha. This is just the beginning, and we'll leave behind something for our future generations to work on.

To build disciples of Marists generation after generation, we can do this!

I've started my 2009 resolutions.
With only two so far haha!

It is...

1. Grow to be positive naturally over all situations
2. Type a blessing each day to remember to count my blessings

The first may be hard, but I'm gonna do it! To turn the lemons in my life, adding in the honey that is given from God's blessings, turning it into my favourite Honey Lemon drink! (:

I'll start with this.

MY TIMETABLE

Having nearly double Chinese everyday...
BUT, I've got a great Chinese teacher. (: She's fun! Haha.

Having to stay back till 3.30 on Tuesdays, and no more 12.45 release...
BUT, after Tuesday lessons at least I still get to go for caregroup after that and I don't really need the 12.45 release after all!

Okay bahh... I think that's roughly it. Haha.

Yaye. See you tomorrow! (: I'm back on my blogging spree(at last ;x)

; David

School's in;

2009-01-01T23:29:00.002+08:00

I'm... Not sure whether I'm ready for school.
New classes, new classmates, new everything.
A month or two ago I was still telling myself,"Oh I can't wait for school to start!".
Now, it's a totally different story.
Ah well. It's 11.30, bedtime.

Gonna go through this, yea!
Salt and light,
Winning the school,
Here. I. Come.

; David

Nights.

2009-01-01T02:35:00.001+08:00

Goodbye 2008,
Hello 2009.

*yawns*

; David

Media.

2008-12-30T23:07:00.001+08:00

Recent things that has been going on...
- X'mas service! (Marists grow by 2!)
- Aloy meeting me in Bishan to tell that I've become a Media team leader. D:
- Media retreat (had lots of fun!!! Sentosa, water, haha.)
- Caregroup~ (Bought school shoess!)
- Cut my hair (School... ):)

Okay, my life is not the most interesting thing out there, sorry. I'm becomingg quietterrrr. Uhoh.

; David

Brrr...

2008-12-24T00:24:00.003+08:00

I tell you this.
No matter if God has the patience to wait for you, no matter how much God loves you, if I've asked you before, and you do not come down, it's your problem. If you find that you're too lazy, you're too anti-social, or any other excuse, that's your problem. I can choose to skip you, instead, I persevere with you, asking you time and time again to just listen. My patience has a limit, if I find that you're not responding well, I'll skip you. Then it's your problem if you've to face Dante's Inferno in the future.

If you relate to what I've said above, then listen well.
Not everyone has the patience to wait for you and ask you time and time again to come down, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, unless by God's Grace someone asks you again and you finally listen. If anyone ever invites you down to church or what, listen to them, give Jesus a chance. Cause, as He knocks on the doors of your heart, and you open it to Him, you no longer have to face some crappy inferno that is more known as Hell.

I'm putting this straight in your face. I won't even bother consoling you or ask you much. If you ever feel like you have a need for Jesus in your life, especially when there are consequences for not doing so, just give me a call/message, 98273256. I'll ensure you that everything will be alright.

On the other hand, if you choose not to listen to me at all, go ahead and exit this blog. I leave it to you. No matter how much I choose to love you, like how He does, if you do not accept it, then I guess, it's all up to you really.

So I repeat it again, if you ever want to talk or know more about this, my number's available. 98273256. My MSN address's open. david.racefinisher@hotmail.com Go ahead. I'll be waiting.

; David

Ah.

2008-12-24T00:12:00.002+08:00

I've got alot of things uncompleted...
Christmas cards...
Christmas gifts...
Holiday homework...

Out of the sudden, holidays seem to be over in awhile. Such sadness, no more staying up late and all, ah. One moment ago I was at 60 days, now at a mere 1 week. Time really fliessssss. I've seen it fly all the time.

*yawns*

School's starting.

; David

CAMP!

2008-12-13T01:16:00.000+08:00

I'm gone from TOMORROW till 16th DECEMBER! HEROES camp! (: See you! :}

; David

Camp!

2008-12-11T02:32:00.004+08:00

Camp is officially in 3 days!
Are you on the list?

Other than things like packing your clothing, etc. More important than bringing your favourite teddy bear to hug at night!

1. CAMP OBJECTIVES

If you've not done this, it's time to do it! Prepare what you plan to achieve, get from this camp, and not just waste that ~~$140~~$120! It's alot of money, so make full use of it! Plan how you're gonna reach those objectives and really hit them! :D

2. HEART PREPARATION

If you've not even prepared this, what's the point! You need the right heart, to have the right spirit, to have the right attitude towards this camp! Without God, what's the point of this camp? Prepare our hearts to seek God, and to receive what He has in stored for us, that's what this is for, isn't it? Especially HEROES, to prepare our hearts for spiritual warfare, everyone got your helmet of salvation? Let's fight. (:

I've thought of these 2, I believe are more or less the most important. (: Anymore just feel free to add on via my tagboard! (:

Hahas, let's be ready for camp, alot of Asking, Seeking and Knocking to do!

Sidenote: I thought they'd have the song In the March by Hillsong Kids, it's really cute and matches the theme. Oh wells. :P

; David

I'm readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Directions come with visions;

2008-12-08T01:23:00.002+08:00

Treat it as you're walking along this road I call 'Life'.
There's a fork in the road, where you get to choose between two options.
Which way would you pick if I did not tell you anything about both of them?

Now, I'm going to put two signs, the left one says "Your hopes, dreams, ambitions all here." and the right one says "Everything else".
Which one are you going to pick?
More or less the left one, right?

It's always when we know where's the end, we know where we're going. Yet many people still choose to know where we're going then find out where's the end. Odd isn't it? Some just flow with the world, wherever it brings them. We need to have the VISION.

For starters, I'm gonna share mine(+ my dream as a bonus :P) cause we shared ours during IMPACT meet on Saturday.

My vision is to see Singaporeans coming to become strong & biblical, accepting Christ. Why? I don't choose to go overseas, cause I believe that if I stay here and grow this city, it will eventually be a big resource for the Great Commission. Imagine, close to 4 million people, all ready to be sent out to do the GC, how amazing is that? My vision! (:

My dream, I'm just going to share one of them. This is something probably not much people know of, I dream to have my very own Christian radio station in Singapore. All over the world, we see such stations, yet none of them are local. Of course, to support this, there's gotta be LOCAL Christian artistes/bands, LOCAL books, LOCAL media, that's when I have people like Bernard come into place. :P This is a very huge dream for me, to influence through such a way.

You see, no matter what my dream is, the other 2 mainly are to see a Marist Yhope room & to influence through media, they all boil down to my vision. They all contribute towards the vision that lies in Singapore. The whole point, of whatever I'm doing now or later, is for the vision in my mind! Whatever our vision is right now, make sure we hold to it. Having the right vision is important for us as without one, we are just like any ordinary being walking on the street. Zombies I term them as.

Without a vision, we have no idea where we are going at all. Just like walking in a dark room with no light. Only when we hold a vision, and keep to it, we'll always walk in the right direction and we know that at the end, we will see the vision coming to past.

As youths(or I assume you are), we need to have a vision. What is the reason we're living this life for? What do we aim to see for ourselves? It matters! Youths, we cannot live this life aimlessly. It's just no point, might as well just end it off now, since sooner or later you're gonna die anyway.

Have a right vision, stick to it, and I pray that one day you see your vision come to past.

; David

Dream caregroup;

2008-12-04T00:40:00.003+08:00

Sorry if I left some of you(DILLON!) out in this photo! :X

Dennis left me a deep question today, What is my dream caregroup?

For once, I'll not type that much. It's a thinking post. (:

; David

Rain;

2008-12-03T01:44:00.002+08:00

I came on blog to share a miracle that happened!
Today we were evax-ing as a caregroup then we hung around the bus interchange area. Mingquan asked God to push the rain to tomorrow cause he wanted to play basketball, & it always works. I got curious, and on the other hand, told him that I'll ask God to make the rain come at 4.30 and gone before 5(plus I earn a free lunch if I'm right :D). It is quite silly really, cause there were no dark clouds at all, totally bright. Having faith in God, I really desperately asked, to see a miracle happen, to remind me that He's still there, no matter what's going on around.

At 4.15, dark clouds formed.
At 4.26, it started to drizzle.
At 4.28, it started to rain a little more.
At 4.30, it downpoured.

I was so amazed by it that I actually ran into the rain for a moment haha! Then Mingquan and Dillon kept pushing me to the rain even though I stopped doing that. Brr. They weren't that happy that I spoiled their basketball session. :X But well, we went to the library to finally chill and the rain really slowed down before 5!

Coincidence, or not?
Some of you may say yes, some no, to me, I say it's God working. Usually we ask for the rain to leave, but have some of us daringly asked for it to rain? Even if the Sun is shining and the clouds are so white? God, you've truly reminded me, that Your Presence is with me.

; David
I wish I took photos. ):

The love;

2008-11-30T02:43:00.002+08:00

I'm still growing in this area that calls me to be slow to anger and well, patient.

When I talk about patience, it's not like when other people are late, then we have to wait for them for 1 hour so we're patient but, it's when some people in your life just keep irritating you and you need the patience to resist from annihilating them.

Being slow to anger, something I'm really moving at a fast pace. I still remember how I always lift my fists when someone just makes me that angry and all, and seeing how it changed, a lot. I'm still overcoming certain things like $2 hotdog scams, etc. But yeah, still growing.

Also, recently in PCLM, we've covered this thing called spiritual giftings.

We went one round to share a gifting we had, and it stuck at me. I was at a loss, couldn't think of any till Bernard helped and said I had the gift of pastoral. I believe that spiritual giftings are best proven when other people can spot that gifting in us, not just doing a test. When people tell us,"Oh I realised you have the gift of... because...". Then we realise that, hey, we really do have that gifting after all. Yeah!

With that, I conclude something.
David has a heart for people,
But he still has to grow to love more.

; David

Magnifier;

2008-11-24T02:19:00.002+08:00

In our hands, we hold this very powerful instrument, it's called the magnifying glass.

On our left, there's God. On our right, there's the problem/worry/etc.. There are 3 things that we can use the magnifying glass to focus on.
The problem - When we constantly keep thinking of what to do with it, it always dwelling on our minds.
Ourselves - When we keep thinking of how we can overcome the problem.
God - When we put our trust and faith in Him, that He can overcome the problem with us.

Focusing on the right object helps a lot.
When we focus on ourselves, we are being self-reliant that the problem is too small for God to handle or the problem is too small for God to care about. Or another way, we can handle the problem with our without God. Woah.
When we focus on the problem, we are not only not relying on God, we think that BOTH God and us are incapable of handling the problem. We would rather the problem handle itself. This is the worst case scenario, where we find both God and us are weak, together.
When we focus on God, we know that yes, on one hand, we cannot rely ourselves to settle the situation. On the other hand, we have the trust and faith that God will make things happen, that He will solve the problem.

Let's digress slightly here. When I say that we do not rely on ourselves, it's not that we are so useless that we cannot solve anything. Yes, it's good to be self-confident, but at the end of the day, we need to know who's God and who's not. Being powerful enough to know that we're weaker than Him.

Finishing off this post with a very simple summary.

When we view the problem too big, we view God and ourselves small.
When we view ourselves too big, we're viewing God small.
When we view God big, our problems become small.
It's all inversely proportional. When one's bigger, the other's smaller.

One thing we can ask ourselves,
"Where do we put our magnifying glass on?"

; David

My new Imeem;

2008-11-23T11:44:00.002+08:00

I've just renewed my Imeem account yesterday, why? (:
Whether my singing sucks or not, whether my guitar playing sucks or not, I'm taking this mini-risk haha. Below my tagboard you'll notice a new section called my playlist! And it only plays songs that I've recorded, so far there's 2. Any comments can be commented in my tagboard, just above my playlist. :P

Thanks for listening! (:

; David

A Leader;

2008-11-23T02:22:00.002+08:00

Three things about a leader:
To others, he know the way.
To his people, he leads the way.
To himself, he is the way.

Isn't it true?

- A leader decides not to take a holiday trip overseas so that he can go for HEROES camp, he sacrifices. He knows that when he sacrifices, his people will follow as well. Soon, you see his people sacrificing as well, knowing what is right to prioritise.
- A leader writes an encouragement card and give a welcome gift to a new believer, won't his people see that and feel that need to learn from the action? Then they will be the ones to do that next time?

He knows that whatever he does, his people will shadow him. He knows that even when at times he makes mistakes, his people will end up dropping into the same hole as him. What he also knows is that, since he made the mistake before, and if the people made it too, he knows that as the way, he can still help them and bring them out of the hole.

As the way, he is the torchlight-carrier. He carries that torchlight in the dark room, where no one else sees anything, except him. They only see him in front of them, nothing else. The torchlight carries great responsibility. If the leader plays with it, and shines around, offing and oning it consistently, and one day, the light just goes out, wouldn't he be lost? If he's lost, his people will be lost. Everyone will be lost together. That's the responsibility it brings, he is fully in-charge of the situation, always.

I've joined Brandon's PCL team, and he gave us a mini-torchlight on the first meeting today. He told us how important we are, as the ones holding the torch. I felt the responsibility, and I'm willing to take it up. To lead 5 people by the end of this year, I will. To rise my sheep as shepherds, I will.

It's time to stop looking inwards,
We've been doing that for a long time.
It's time to look at the world and see,
Of the much greater problems we have to face.
Cause only then I will see Marists and Beattians,
Rising to become the next generation of leaders.

; David

The bigger picture;

2008-11-21T00:39:00.002+08:00

Not gonna focus on the problem anymore.
It was a mere 5 minutes.
Focusing on the bigger, God, makes so much difference.
Thanks for reminding me of the right focus.

Something that struck me was that,
"The more you know Him, the more faith you should have, it doesn't come from within you."
For the past God-knows-how-long, faith always personally came from my heart. Can't believe it. I just received a reminder of a fundamental that has been told to me for so long ago. Really needed it.

Thank you, and thank God. I'm gonna go seek Him all over again.

; David

P.S. David's picking back up again, on the right healthy Diet.

Falling.

2008-11-21T00:18:00.003+08:00

Is money such a cruel thing in today's society?
I'm crying right now because of stupid pieces of paper and scraps of metal.
Things are not going well.
My family is breaking apart because of money itself.
Facing major financial problems.
- My phone line's gonna be cut off soon.
- My Internet line is going to be cut off soon.
- I have nothing to pay the money I owe my leader for camp.
- I have no pocket money anymore.
- I'm going to have to start selling things like my guitar, my laptop, my everything.

I know how people will start running me down that "Oh the Africans don't even have food to last them.", oh blah. We're all living in what? Singapore. We are adapted to such living, even if having that $3 per meal. Telling me how other people don't even have a single cent doesn't help me much at all.

Nothing much to be hidden at this point. My mom's at a rate of forcing me to work part-time, which I can't even find the time too. God, You've told me that as I served You, my needs will be met, I'm holding tight to that promise right now. My mom has really broken me down greatly this time round and I'm really at a loss.

I'm breaking down soon over such a dumb problem.
How I wish that God would just rain a million dollars to prove my dad and mom wrong.
If only it would happen through my tiny little faith left.
I need the miracle in my life.

Falling really deep into the hole,
I'm really dropping very low,
The light's slowly going out,
I'm shouting really very loud.
God can You really please carry me out,
I need that little assurance right now.

; David

Holding on to the promises... Very very tightly.
Thank you people for your encouragements, cause I need them right now.

Walking by Faith;

2008-11-17T01:52:00.004+08:00

I'm going to 3Aloysius next year. Awkward surprise, are we the focus class? Cause usually 3A and 3B are for the triple Science students but they got pushed to 3K and 3L(the usually bad classes...). I have a bad feeling we are either the focus or the useless. :X Cause this year it's put from the back. So triple Science being the last two classes, the next taking the next few, the worst combination taking the next 4 classes, and there's my class, the last one. It just gives me a weird feeling. Haha.

Oh wells. Where God places me, I will make the difference there. To be like Elisha and follow wherever I have to, and Job after listening to God to move to Nineveh even if he hates it, to be the Abraham who followed by faith, I will do it! I will follow by faith, even if I have to.

I walk by faith
Each step by faith
To live by faith
I put my trust in You

To walk by faith, is to put our entire trust in Him. To surrender whole. 100%. The slightest bit of faith just needs that small trust, but to learn to WALK by it, it's full surrender. Cause without the 100%, God would rather you be a 0%. Never to be lukewarm, but remain burning for Christ all the time.

I sing a song
Is it good enough?
I sing again
Is it good enough yet?
I sing the last time
Is it acceptable at least?

Yet He says,
"Sing with your heart, soul,
Mind and strength.
Sing with your all,
That's when it's pleasing to my ears."

; David

Night's Of Me;

2008-11-14T01:39:00.003+08:00

The class chalet was sort of awesome I guess~
Just that everyone was so reluctant to even take a photo with me! ):
Plus, no one wanted to take a CLASS photo, especially when there were only like 10 of us left on the 2nd day.
Which means... I could only take unglam shots of people! (: Will upload them asap for viewing pleasure. :P

Hoho, one reason I'm here cause I just watched Quantum of Solace yesterday night! We watched the midnight movie haha. (4 out of 7 people slept through it...)

The movie was totally cool! Just like Casino Royale, it is full packed of action! The parts in the movie are still so distinct in my head hahas, very exciting! Well, I'm the only one that appreciated the movie, the rest sort of found it boring (I've. No. Idea. Why.), though it's an ACTION movie. I would like to sneak a few spoilers here and there but it'll ruin your joy while you watch it. It is full of surprises, everywhere. (: (Oh, there's sexual scenes in it... And we watched the sneak preview so I don't think a part of it was cut...)

But really, if you enjoyed Casino Royale, this movie is for you. (: I can't wait for the next movie to come out! Haha! I'll catch it no matter what! By the way, this is the best movie I've caught ever since I've watched TWO bad movies in a row. *phew*

The chalet was great, spent time with my classmates alot. For once, I took a full ministry break, a day without any ministry-related issues, it was relaxing. But it's over~ Time to get up and go again! :)

; David

"We need you back."
"I've never left."

:P

2008-11-12T11:49:00.001+08:00

See all of ya tomorrow!
CLASS CHALET, HERE I COME!

; David

Be happy;

2008-11-11T23:49:00.002+08:00

I find it so easy to be happy.
In times when I'm facing problems, I can still give that smile.
Yet, it's also easy to be un-happy. It is only a matter of an extreme or another, that easy. That's why, everyone has a choice whether to be happy.
It is a DECISION. No one forces you to be sad. Even if you're sad inside, you can still smile!

One reason why I enjoy being happy, it is an aura. As Elijah keeps calling me, the Happy Aura. Haha. We keep making jokes out of it, "Woah, max level happy aura! Extreme happiness! Yippie!". I strive to not only make myself happy, I strive to make people around me happy. It's a natural thing. When I see someone unhappy, boom, I'll try my best to encourage them. (according to case, of course)

They say that happiness causes a smile,
I believe that it's also the smile that causes happiness.

; David

I will be happy,
To make others happy.

Ask and I'll!

2008-11-09T02:21:00.002+08:00

Been listening to the song You Said alot recently, the lyrics go like this...

You Said - Hillsong, Reuben Morgan

You said, ask and you will receive
Whatever you need
You said, pray and I'll hear from heaven
And I'll heal your land

You said Your glory will fill the earth
Like water the seas
You said, lift up your eyes
The harvest is here, the kingdom is near

You said, Ask and I'll give the nations to you
O Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your light, as it rises on us

O Lord, I ask for the nations

The bridge keeps resounding in my head, reminding me of the Great Commission again and again. To look at the big picture, not just at the school, cause it's all lives we're talking about. (;

Back on track, I received quite a number of books and notes, from Weijun, Zyann, thanks! (: Sec 3 life's gonna be tough but I will hold on! To glorify His Name man~

What's up this week...
Shepherdings...
Class chalet!...
Caregroup~...
Service!!!

I think that's all. Not bad, cool week. Will be getting my textbooks on Saturday! (: A-Math COLOUR textbook... Hehe.

Yaye. Uploading photos soon once I received them from someone who still owes me still~

; David

Subject Combination;

2008-11-06T08:26:00.003+08:00

On 6th of November 2008, David woke up at 6.45am in anticipation of his subject combination. David waits until 8.20, watching his Gears of War 2 videos while constantly refreshing the admin page to see whether they have updated it with his combination. Finally, at 8.25, the long wait is over.

Note: My anxiousness dried out while waiting since SEVEN in the morning for the school.

MY SUBJECT COMBINATION FOR SEC 3/4:

English
Chinese
Elementary Mathematics
Additional Mathematics
Pure Chemistry
Pure Physics
Pure Geography
Elective Social Studies + History

Thank God for His Grace in this. Yeowboon got the combination without a pure Humanities when he had 0.1% higher than me... So really thank God for this.

I will continue to glorify Him in my studies! (:

To be that salt&light in the school,
I will.

; David

Ice-Cream Buffet;

2008-11-05T23:32:00.009+08:00

I owe many photos~ But tonight I'm gonna upload the shepherding I had with Bernard today at Yuki Yaki! Never heard before? Cause it's a bbq buffet/teriyaki/ice-cream factory all in one! (: But we only went for the ice-cream... Cause it alone is $9 for an hour. If you wanna go for a lunch buffet there, it's $16.90 but definately worth it, cause I'm going there a few shepherdings later! :P

Cool right? Located at Marina Square, #03-210. A great place to go to for retreats, special occasions, shepherdings, yup! Wanna know why the place is special? Cause of this!

You go to the counter(the bright white compartment in my second photo), and you can take as many cups of ice-cream mixtures you want, from the common vanilla to chocolate, to special ones like durian, green tea and even my favourite cuppucino! :D After that, you pour them into the large tray-like thing you see here.

The tray is set to extreme cold temperatures so your mixture turns into ice-cream into a matter of seconds! :D

Did I mention... FREE toppings AND drinks(soft drink... woot!)? Refillable somemore. ;D

After that's done, you get your nice-tasting ice-cream, viola! (: Isn't that fun and unique? But it's a tad tiring, you've to scrap your ice-cream... Haha! But it's how we bond together. :) Enjoy the rest of the photos!

See how Bernard enjoys his ice-cream! :D

Finishing off with this, a record of 2 people eating 14 cups of mixtures in 1 hour. Wow, we rock. (:

; David

SC;

2008-11-05T00:15:00.002+08:00

I was gonna upload photos tonight.
I'm too lazy!
And someone still owes me photos too.
So uploading tomorrow instead. :P

My purpose for coming to blog is to announce...
SUBJECT COMBINATION IN 2 DAYS!
The moment I've been waiting for has finally arrived.
Good or bad... It all boils down to this. (:

To all those taking 'O' level Chinese, I really pray for ya that you will really score distinctions to glorify Him! (: Plus, you shouldn't even be reading this now, go sleep, your paper is so near man!

; David

Words;

2008-11-04T02:17:00.005+08:00

I almost forgot about the words received while praying with Mingquan and Chisun at Ministry Night just now! Haha. Sharing them now~

1. A White Building

ChiSun shared this about a large white building, built to perfection. Yet it was totally empty. Encouraged that it is like our schools, may be ready, but people are not there yet cause we have not opened the gates for them to come in. We need to be the ones to open for them and not the other way round, going the extra mile, giving our all to bring them in.

2. Facing the Giants

Mingquan shared about a video in Facing the Giants, the movie. Where people were praising God in their high times and blaming Him in their low times. God encouraged here that we need to always praise Him in ALL times, thanking Him in all circumstances. No matter what, perservere till the end with the right heart attitude, never giving up.

3. A Dandelion

Yaye my turn. God showed me a short clip of a dandelion being blown, and all its seeds flying in the wind. The seeds simply let the wind guide them to where it wants them to go. One lands on a fertile soil, growing into a new dandelion which produces so many more seeds.

Phillipians 1:6 - He who began a good work in you will carry it onto completion till the day of Christ Jesus.

God is just like the one who blew the dandelion, filled with seeds, such as us. And we have to learn to let Him be the one who guides us and carry us through. Until the end when He promises that we land on the right place, the schools we're in, and more seeds will grow from there. Encouraged me to really stand firm in where He put me in, to understand that He will definately complete the work, no matter what.

My life;

2008-11-04T01:55:00.002+08:00

I don't care what they say
I don't care what they think
I don't care what they want
I don't care what they feel

I care what You say
I care what You think
I care what You want
I care what You feel

I don't need to care,
Cause He cares.

; David

The Song We Sang;

2008-11-02T23:44:00.005+08:00

I'm going into a love poem craze ahhhh.

The Song We Sang

Remember that night we sang this song
The song that claimed every promise we took
The lyrics and melody that moved us much
The rhythm that beat our hearts as one

The slow and low reminds us of the troubles we faced
The fast and high shows the joy we shared
Special memories that casted every single bar
Each that was filled with meaning and trust

Every stanza represents a part of our lives
All of them which form that one song we sing
For every day that I spend with you
Is much more sweeter than before

Enjoy! Yaye!

; David

Encouraged;

2008-11-02T01:49:00.002+08:00

If you're crying,
The Shoulder will be there.
If you're feeling sad,
The Sun will shine.
If you're now in pain,
The Rain will cease it all.

There will always be such times,
They come, like it or not.
But no matter what you face,
Whether you're hurt or distressed,
You just need to remember,
To let God do the rest.

Getting into a very heavy mood of writing poems, good thing. (: Hope this encourages all you emo people out there! :D

; David

2008-11-01T01:09:00.003+08:00

Stir it up in our hearts Lord
Stir it up in our hearts Lord
Stir it up in our hearts, a passion for Your Name

Let your fire consume me whole
I want the passion instilled in me again and again
Till the last breath
I'll still desire it

To see You lifted high
High above all else
Nothing else I could lift
Cause there's only You

Therefore I pray in my heart
You'll give me all I need in this
To be able to say to the world...
"I M Passionate About ChrisT"

IMPACT, nothing else.

; David

Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:22:00.002+08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Kick-off Halloween with this! :D

On the eve of this day
Witches, ghouls, fiends and ghosts
Scream, Count Dracula
And even Mr. Frankenstein

All the monsters of the world
Even the aliens out of Earth
From the deepest areas of the underground
To the highest skies of the clouds

All of them start crawling out
Mix around with the people
No one's ever afraid of them
Cause everyone simply looks the same

Time for us to hide ourselves
Put on our masks to deceive others
Let's not show our true selves tonight
Cause well, this is called Halloween...

Happy Halloween... (;

; David

2008-10-31T01:21:00.002+08:00

Random, felt like writing a emo poem haha.

On a lovely Valentine
That's when you first caught my eye
Never thought the day would come
When you would be mine

We started out fast
It felt so good
I never felt that way before
As if I was on cloud nine

But that moment didn't last
We both knew that too well
The clouds started to part
Our relationship was cut

When you said "It's over"
My heart was no longer on high
The day you left me, sigh
The Authum wind that blew by

Whee~ Haha! Okay gotta sleep now. There's FATAL FAME, and I'm so happy to thank God that I'm a gamemaster. (: See yah~

; David

Tiredz.

2008-10-29T00:32:00.001+08:00

Yawns.
Holidays haven't really been that exciting for me...
Even though yeah, I'm at a very relaxed mood and all...
I've been wondering to myself,"Why are my holidays not that happening?".
I'm reminding myself that I've got alot more to look forward to. (;

List of events in this holiday:
Fatal Fame (31st October)
Service (Every other Saturday! (:)
HEROES Camp (13th-16th December)
Christmas celebration

There will be alot more, sure to come. (:

; David