training

the FREAKIEST thing happened today after school....i was catching the train from Wahroonga to Pennant Hills with my 2 school friends...we got on as the train pulled up to Wahroonga, and the carriage was really packed so we just stood (it's only 2 stations to get to Hornsby anyway)

There were these 3 filipino guys, between 20-30 yrs old who were standing near us. We took no notice of them, but when we started talking and chatting, we could see out of the corner of our eyes that they were miming our actions and copying what we were saying. (guys just fooling around maybe?)

Anyway, we ignored them, but decided to "switch channels" ie speak in chinese instead of english, so we kept talking...

We got off at Hornsby station, and they were walking right near us...our platform was no. 3 and we saw them on the opposite side (no. 4) AND they kept staring at us!! it was getting rather freaky now...but at least they were on the other side....

a couple of minutes later, i nearly fell over from shock...3 metres away, i saw the same guy from before. then, his two buddies walked over as well, and were standing around us again! thank goodness there were heaps of people on the platform, otherwise i think i would've been seriously worried....but it doesn't make it any less freaky!

anyway, finally our train came, and me and my school friends rushed to get into a different carriage....and finally we couldn't see them anymore....and the worst thing was...they were really ugly. i'm not kidding! and smelly too....

what an experience.

birthday greetings...

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO FRANKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(wow...that means u were born in 1985....gosh u sound so OLD!!! =P)

song and dance

has anyone heard this really cheesy song on Channel Seven yet?

Is the weather getting cooler?
Ask Nuala!

my sister and i thought this was so hilarious- we decided to make our own...

When's the season for peaches?
Ask Beatrice!

*

Do you want to buy a pony?
Ask Tony!

*

Where to go to get some candy?
Ask Wandy!

*

You want a higher salary?
Ask Valerie!

*

This next one is for a very cough*special*cough friend of mine:

Is the room getting smelly?
Ask Kelly!

*

I've heard so much about Les Mis at Ruse on the weekend...i'm so miserable i wasn't allowed to see it!!! *cries* i'll probably never get another chance to see it....


You're Eponine!! As Marius said "Her life was cold and dark, yet she was unafraid"
That probably holds true for you as well...

[Which Les Mis Character Are You]
brought to you by [Quizilla]

movies and musicals

i've just watched Phantom of the Opera for the first time. and i've fallen in love with the music...

RAOUL
Then say you'll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
Let me lead you
from your solitude . . .
Say you need mewith you
here, beside you . . .
anywhere you go,
let me go too -
Christine,that's all I ask
of you . . .

CHRISTINE
Say you'll share with
me one
love, one lifetime . . .
say the word
and I will follow you . . .

BOTH
Share each day with
me, each
night, each morning . . .

CHRISTINE
Say you love me . . .

RAOUL
You know I do . . .

BOTH
Love me -
that's all I askof you . . .



*sigh* which reminds me- all you lucky ppl who saw Les Mis have to tell me all about it!!

my favourite 5 movies at the moment:
1. Star Wars III
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. LOTR Return of the King
4. The Last Samurai
5. Monsters Inc.

what's a VCR?

ahh....remember the days of having video-tapes? no? nowadays it's all DVD's and VCD's...i wonder if in 50 years time they'll just have movies on devices the size of a USB....it seems everything these days is getting smaller and smaller and smaller....even our houses are down-sizing, families are getting smaller, from computers to laptops, even down to mini M&Ms!




*it's a small world after all....*

reflections...

i am so blessed.

God has been so incredibly gracious to me all my life, and today just reminded me of how blessed i am. normally i get so caught up with my schoolwork and other insignificant details that i forget the big picture. but today i was able to get things back into perspective.

looking back at my life (ok so it's not that long...yet!) i can truly see God working in me, to change me. i'm a totally different person to who i was 5 years ago. this is through my dear brothers and sisters in Christ whom God has richly blessed me with. They support me when i'm down, encourage me to persevere, share with me in my joyous moments, pray for me, pray with me, and love me for who i am. it's such a comfort to know that these people are my spiritual family- that i will spend all eternity with them!

in the end, the important things in life are not assessment marks or HSC, or UAI's, or what uni course u got into, or anything like that- but the relationships that we have. A restored relationship to God first and foremost, and then relationships with other people. So treasure the relationships that God has blessed you with...like our parents for example. Though i as all teenagers do get annoyed with them sometimes, i shouldn't take them for granted. They are a gift to me from God! if you don't think so, try to imagine life without them...and gratefully realise how much they mean to you and love you!

too often we complain and grumble about not getting things we want, not having things our way. (just like the Israelites in the desert...) it's so easy to take things for granted, and so hard to truly appreciate what we've already got.

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1

21st century

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005, WHEN....

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You go home after a long day at work, you still answer the phone in a business manner.
7. You make phone calls from home, you accidentally dial "9" to get anoutside line.
8. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
10. You learn about your redundancy on the 10 o'clock news.
11. Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job.
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
13. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
14. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't havethe first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
15. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
16. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. =)
17. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
18. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
19. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

jedi schmedi

heheheh...i couldn't resist! i had to post these up: my sister's artwork (i think bea is a budding artist!)

1. Darth Vader and Luke (as u can tell by the caption..duh! =P)


2. Guess who?? if u've seen AOTC u'd know...


3. which movie is this one from? (there are only 6 answers...)


aren't they cute?? thanks to bea for letting me take photos of them..

-- edit at 5:01pm

just finished taekwondo...my mum won't be here to pick me up for awhile...
had an interesting conversation about bgr at school today...it reminded me to post up this: [Jeff's notes] on Love, Sex, and Marriage (4 part series) - they're really gd!! very biblically based and covers a lot of questions u might have... also talks abt dating, what to look for in a partner etc...

hehe...comic of the day:

star wars

i'm so excited!!!! i'm going to see Star Wars III today (Revenge of the Sith) in 3 hours and 27 minutes time...if ur not a star wars fan u won't understand why i'm so hyped up abt this- it's the very last Star Wars movie ever! and i'm hoping it's going to be gd...i've heard some great reviews abt it already....*eeee!!!*

i suppose i should explain for those who don't like Star Wars without reason ie they don't know what it's abt so they assume it's not gd!!

the main character of Star Wars (SW for short) is Anakin Skywalker. Basically he is the good guy who turns bad...there was a prophecy about him, that he was 'the Chosen One' who would bring balance to the Force. (basically, he's going to get rid of evil.) but, instead of doing this- he turns from good to evil- aka Darth Vader. The 6 movies of SW show his journey from a young boy and how in the end, he is saved by his son (Luke) who brings him back to the good side- and as a result he destroys his Master (the Sith) and fulfils the prophecy by getting rid of evil.

-- edit at 6:32 pm

oh.my.gosh.....IT WAS SOOOO GOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the best movie i've ever seen- George Lucas is a genius! i got so emotional that i cried- and i never cry in movies!
i won't spoil it for you, but i have to recommend it....20 out of 10 i say...gut-wrenching action and heart-breaking scenes...i couldn't bear to watch, but i couldn't take my eyes away from the screen...



if you don't see it, you are seriously missing out! i want to watch it again...and again..and again...*cries* the DVD's not going to be out for ages...


:: how jedi are you? :: (taken from juusu's site)

one man

One man, kneeling
alone in the night
Blood and sweat mix
outflowing in fright
Kneeling, praying
prone on the grass
"From my lips, Father,
let this cup pass."

One man, standing
scorned, flogged, and beat
Harsh words still echo
there in the heat
"He is no king,"
he heard them cry
"Give us Barabbas!
and him -- CRUCIFY!!"

One man, hanging
dying with thieves
Of the thousands who followed
for him, who grieves?
Friends watch at a distance
afraid to go near
Their whole worlds are shattered
their hearts filled with fear.

One man lived and died
in a rich grave was laid
For His blood was shed
that our debt be paid.
But death could not hold Him
resurrected He stands
To him who is weary
outstretched are His hands
In Christ there is rest
a requiem from strife
To him who believes
He will grant eternal life.

[Ryan Corbi]

faithful

All God's testings have a purpose-
Someday you will see the light.
All He asks is that you trust Him,
Walk by faith and not by sight.

Do not fear when doubts beset you,
Just remember-He is near;
He will never, never leave you,
He will always, always hear.

Faithful is He who has promised,
He will never let you fall,
Daily will the strength be given
Strength for each and strength for all.

He will gladly share pain with you,
He will gladly give you peace.
Till your tired and weary body
Finds its blessed, glad release.

When the darkened veil is lifted,
Then, dear heart, you'll understand
Why it is you had to suffer,
Why you could not feel His hand

Giving strength when it was needed,
Giving power and peace within
Giving joy thru tears and trial,
Giving victory over sin.

So till then just keep on trusting,
Thru the sunshine and the rain,
Thru the tears and thru the heartaches,
Thru the smiles and thru the pain

Knowing that our Father watches,
Knowing daily strength He'll give,
Victory for each passing hour,
This is life, so let us live!

[John Zoller]

this poem is stuck up in my locker for good reason...i find it so encouraging when bad times come, and i hope that the knowledge that God is faithful gives you comfort too.

my heart is aching, and my tears are cried,
all i can do is have faith in this God of mine.
the skies are dark, hope seems lost,
Christ understands- for you He bore the Cross.

Have courage and don't be afraid,
Love those who hate you and forgive those you hate,
When hard times hit and friends fall away,
No matter what, God will remain.

do christians have to go to church?

i've been wanting to post about this for quite a while now....this following article is from www.fm1032.com.au

Have you heard people say "I've got better things to do with my weekends than going to church?" Then they say "I can be just as good a Christian as the next person without going to church." And this is a very interesting topic. Do I need to go to church in order to be a Christian? There's no denying that some people who never step inside a church lead very good lives. That's very obvious. I know people who are lead good and moral lives, but do not attend church. And it's true that you can be a Christian and not attend church. So why bother? Some say they can worship God just as well by digging in their garden or riding their surfboard. Surely that's better than sitting in a stuffy old building? One of the reasons for going to church is to increase our chances of experiencing good, helpful fellowship.

Many solid friendships are established in church groups, and indeed a number of people meet their future wife or husband inside there as well.That is not to say that equally good friendships do not exist outside the church. Of course they do, but friendships among Christians enables questions of faith to be aired and explored, and create networks of people who will pray for each other. And that's a wonderful thing. We can read the Bible on our own, but there is also a lot to recommend learning about it in Church. What about the minister, pastor or priest who has been to college or Bible school. He or she has studied the Bible in detail, and is able to speak with enthusiasm and give you insights you may not have yourself. That's one reason for attending church. As you get to know the Minister, you can ask questions about the Bible, particularly parts of it you can't follow. It's always helpful to have this kind of information, because when answers come, our faith is encouraged and we gain a deeper understanding of Scripture.

Someone once compared the church to a coal fire. If a single lump of coal falls out of a blazing fire, it will burn for a short while by itself, but will cool down and die out quite soon. But when in the fire, the lump of coal stays hot. Going to church each week does not make you a Christian, anymore than going to a burger restaurant regularly makes you a hamburger. But going to church on a regular basis is very helpful. The Bible tells me "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25).

*

for me, i absolutely LOVE going to church and EYF... in fact, fridays and sundays are my favourite days of the week. why? well it's because i know i'm spending time with dearly cherished brothers and sisters in Christ who are wonderful examples for me as they serve and encourage others. I get so encouraged to keep on persevering in my faith, and i get fed from the Bible, and there's nothing in the world like the feeling of after a long week of school, to be able to go to EYF and have fellowship with my spiritual family. To be able to praise and sing to God with them, to study the Bible with them, to share with each other and carry each other's burdens, to learn to love and serve each other, to work together for the Gospel and for God's glory- these are the people I am going to spend eternity with! and i thank God for that. I think if it weren't for my church friends, i might've given up on being a Christian long ago- but they keep me accountable, and they keep me growing in Christ.

And right now as i'm sitting at home on a cold sunday afternoon reflecting on God's goodness and blessings to me, I am so grateful to Him for providing me with such amazing brothers and sisters... in fact, i miss you guys so much right now... there's no other place i'd rather be in the whole world than at church- it's a little taste of what heaven is going to be like one day....

i can't wait till friday!

funny tan lines =P

i couldn't resist- i had to post this up!!



heheh...no offense intended!! (since i'm halfway turning into a computer geek myself- all thanks to my software design teacher...we're even starting a tally of who in our class has the most "geek points")

onto other news: my life is slowly being consumed by maths and english... i really feel in need of a holiday..but unfortunately we're still only in week 3...ever wished you could freeze time for a couple of hours- do all your homework, catch up on some needed sleep, and then unfreeze time, feeling unstressed and accomplished because you've finished all your work for two weeks in one day? oh no-- reality is pulling me back into its cruel grip...i'm afraid i'll have to leave my daydreams and imaginings for another day...

and i know it's late- but i don't think i could wait another year before i posted it:

athletics carnival 05!

what a tiring day! seriously, cheering takes so much energy out of me...it's ironic coz i wasn't even cheering for my own house...kiki and shaz, i hope u two will get better soon!! i missed you...i felt very nigelated all by myself in Richo....

highlights of the day:
- hiding behind the seats so we could study
- day girl vs boarder relay (WOOHOO!! day girls won!!)
- Richardson NOT coming last in overall point score (hehe cough MELBA cough)

Kelly and Ash & Ash and Karin


Me and Karin & Group Pic


Random Artistic Shot & Whole group picture (last friday)

comic of the day:

Minding God's business~

gracenotworks.com :: february 2001

The Christian walks a narrow path that's easily slipped from. On either side steep descents are present, leading to two ditches representing two great errors we often find ourselves slipping into.



On the one hand we slide into liberty, where we make light of things the Lord declares to be serious issues. We reason: "Christians are saved by grace, so it's OK if we continue to sin; surely God can't get too angry about that sin since he's forgiven me for all the other sins I've done."

On the other hand lies the ditch of licence/law: where we make Laws out of things the bible is indifferent about. Some things we claim impossible to do if you're a Christian: "Christians don't drink wine, or smoke, or listen to heavy metal music, or run web sites, or sleep in on Sunday mornings."

Other times, we make rules out of things that are good but not law: "Surely if you don't pray and read your bible every day you're not a growing Christian. Surely if you didn't grow up in my particular flavour of church you can't be doing a good work for the Lord."

The challenge is to keep our minds tuned to seeing things the way the Lord sees things...

*

So the question that has been bothering me is; how do you tell a fellow Christian they shouldn't be reading certain types of magazines or watching certain TV shows?

For me, the issue is clear. I have been saved by God IN ORDER to have a relationship with Him. A relationship with Him means i can't go on sinning - it was because of sin in the first place that caused the broken relationship between humans and God. Not going on sinning means being godly, being holy...we are called as God's people to be holy because God is holy. God said in Lev 19:2 to his people the Israelites- "'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy." Likewise, we who are God's chosen people are also called to be godly. In 1 Thess 4:7 it says- "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."

The Bible doesn't say "Christians are not to read Cleo or Cosmo" People who have been Christians for longer though know they shouldn't read certain types of magazines or watch certain TV shows because they know these things displease the Lord. It also allows for temptations such as gossip and does not serve as a good witness to non-believers! How do i tell my Christian friends all this, without sounding too legalistic or confronting in case they are offended and never want to listen to me again?

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Eph 4:22-24

euro-english (?)

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become
known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from words kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Zen ve vil rul ze world!!!

-- from an email forward i received ages ago...found it again recently!

i want one!

oh and my comic of the day (almost forgot!)

mm...feeling hungry?

how good does this look?! my favourite french desserts of all time:

Creme caramel and Profiteroles

i wish it was recess!!

zZz

i can honestly say i've never fallen asleep during a class at school.

however- we had an excursion today for Driver Education, with 6 different sessions about road safety, alcohol, etc.... and i was soo tired by no.5 which was all about the financial cost of buying a car....it was so weird...my vision started to go blurry, and i could feel my eyes wanting to close....and without knowing it, i fell asleep...reminds me of those ads about micro-sleeps while u're driving...and then everytime the lecturer said something a bit louder i would jolt back awake...but then a couple of minutes later i was nodding off to sleep again...it was absolutely impossible to keep my eyes open! the teacher's voice kept droning on and on and on and on...

comic of the day:

u're not going to believe this...

hahahahhahh...is this coincidence...or something more mysterious? my fellow sunday schoolers will know what i'm talking abt...i was walking up the stairs to the year 11 area, and i happened to glance over at the yr11 noticeboard. right in the middle, written in black marker was this:

Rom 8:28 - this is a very comforting verse...also very revealing.

i almost burst out laughing when i read it...hehe...(Phil 4:13)

comic of the day:

meant to live~

Switchfoot- Christian rock band with lyrics definitely better than Revive! i've got their songs stuck in my head atm especially
Meant to Live [mp3]

Fumbling his confidence
And wondering why the world has passed him by
Hoping that he's bid for more than arguments
And failed attempts to fly, fly

[Chorus] We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside

Dreaming about Providence
And whether mice or men have second tries
Maybe we've been livin with our eyes half open
Maybe we're bent and broken, broken

[Chorus]

We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
We were meant to live
We were meant to live

on the other hand, i'm starting to get quite fond of posting cartoons up- i think i might start a Snoopy Comic of the Day...hmmm..