mmmmmmmmmm....

me and bea made these last sunday for afternoon tea- how good do they look?? and they tasted even better... lately with so much time on my hands i've become rather fond of whipping something up in the afternoon to eat. on monday it was banana cake, and yesterday i made a sponge cake- both cakes are now almost gone!

i'd really love to try my hand at something a little harder, a little more difficult... but the problem is i don't have the ingredients- i just gotta work with what i have in the pantry... which is not a lot! i can't make anything with chocolate coz we don't have chocolate (in any size, shape or form) so the only thing i'm left with is flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and a lot of fruit!

still, looking at my past track record with cooking i think i've done rather well so far... i still remember that time when i tried to make steam cake but when i took it out it shrunk to half its size and went all wrinkly...yes that was funny... and the time i made peanut butter cookies that were hard enough to break teeth... oh and who could forget the time i chargrilled a steamed bun with the microwave; filling the whole house with smoke and nearly causing the microwave to explode? hmmm... maybe i'll just stick to banana cake for now...

rewritten.

i was cleaning up My Documents the other day, deleting old files and moving others back to where they belonged, when i found something that i had not looked at for a very long time. just reading the lyrics brought back floods of memories and i was very glad that i had kept it.

A Whole New World

God had made the world,
Shining, shimmering, splendid,
But we sinned and disobeyed God,
Turned our backs on him.

He loved us so much,
He sent his Son to save us,
Alone, despised and rejected
Christ was crucified for us.

If we believe,
Christ died so we could be set free,
That he, the Son of God, rose from the dead,
We will live eternally.

A whole new world,
This is what heaven's going to be:
There'll be no crying, no more pain,
We will praise God fallen on our knees.

Unbelievable sights, indescribable beauty,
Pearls and diamonds, gold and silver,
Abundant as the stars!

A whole new world,
This is what heaven's going to be:
There'll be no crying, no more pain,
We will praise God fallen on our knees.

A whole new world,
Through Jesus Christ we will be
Living in heaven- Over death
We now have the final victory!

*

Complicated

Verse:
Chill out, what you tryin to do?
Lay back, it's all been done for you,
And if you will only believe, you will see,
You can't change the way you are,
Or things, you've done in your past,
You can't save yourself, why don't you call for help?
You think you're okay, but you're gonna pay, you're so full of sin, deep within,
You think you are fine, but you're gonna die, oh please tell me!

Chorus:
Why'd you have to go make things so complicated?
Can't you see that trying to be good will only get you frustrated?
It's like this, he. He died on a cross and if you believe, only then you're saved,
Nothing you can do to earn your way to heaven, no no no.

Verse:
We sin, it's a part of us, guess what? the Lord our God is just,
And He can't allow us to live, must be punished,
But Christ, the perfect sacrifice, He came on the earth to die,
And if you believe, you can have eternal life,
But you think you're okay, so you're gonna pay, you are full of sin, deep within,
You think you are fine, but you're gonna die, oh please tell me!

Chorus:
Why'd you have to go make things so complicated?
Can't you see that trying to be good will only get you frustrated?
It's like this, he. He died on a cross and if you believe, only then you're saved,
Nothing you can do to earn your way to heaven, no no no.

bbq @ cerise's!

CABC-ers and WS-ers met together today to have fellowship, have fun together.. and eat! for me, it was my first time to meet any WS-ers and i was a little nervous, seeing as i was also the youngest one there! but it was sooo much fun and their friendliness blew me away! it was so awesome to be able to share lunch together and know that we were connected by more than just friendship, but that it was Christ's death and resurrection with unified and held us together as a family!

At first we played Balderdash and then the footy final soon captivated all the guys while the girls were slaving away in the kitchen to make lunch.... just kidding!! nah it was great, there was heaps of food for everyone and i met a lot of new people including: Cerise, Joanna, Ben, John, Gavin, Andrew, Alex... i think that's everyone (too many new names = short term memory!)

we then had a "session" according to Cerise's "program" where we split off into groups to chat and get to know each other better- it was a wonderful idea and it was so comfortable and easy to share with each other about our Christian lives and how we were serving God etc etc..

Then it was onto the tennis courts for a major game of handball! first it was guys vs girls, then CABC vs WS! haha! needless to say; we won! =P

finally, we had more laughs than actual singing as we played on SingStar- wish they had Les Mis or Phantom!! haha and just like that- it was already time to leave =( a month's seeding gone in just a short couple of hours... but it was so totally worth it!! it was AWESOME!!!

end of term 3!

we had the farewell year 12 assembly today- i couldn't help but keep thinking that in just one year's time, it'll be ME up on that stage... we had all the traditional farewells: speeches from junior school, middle and senior school and staff, the yr12 video, yr12 singing a song to the school, the yr11 archway that the yr12's run thru, the yr11 hosted morning tea... many girls were crying as we sang a farewell version of 'A Whole New World'...

so today was quite sad compared to the last few days where it's been exciting with all the muck-up that's gone on: for example phones pranked during assembly, streakers from Knox running across the top oval, waterbombs, talcum powder on teacher's desks etc etc...

but the best thing i reckon was the fake version of the Shuttle (our newsletter) they published...

The Shunted:
"So finally, congratulations to the Year 12's, together we have broken through the brick wall and will always remember that Abbotsleigh girls can do anything ©."
"Lost- respect from younger years; any desire to journey anywhere ever again (imaginative or otherwise)"
"Found- a small army of mysterious I.T. men running around the school; approximately 3 computers per student in order to generate work for the I.T. army."
"We know that you will emerge from this world-class institution as global citizens who can climb Mount Everest and win numerous trophies... alternatively we'll see you at Centrelink!"

Quotes:
Alice: "what's that style... you know- it's kinda like hobo but not?" Caz: "you mean boho?"
Kate: "I want to do drama so I can become a better public speecher"
Amy: "how do boarders get money? Oh... i guess your parents could fax it" Someone: "you can't fax money!" Amy: "Duh! i don't mean the coins!"

content...

a couple of posts ago, i shared about how i was feeling troubled and burdened, how i felt caught up in this world... praise be to God who has rescued me from the pits of despair! i realised that i was being soo selfish, and that all i could think about was how to make ME feel better...

but look at what blessings God has rained down on me!!
i have loving family and friends, the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ, freedom from the slavery of sin, forgiveness and redemption, the Holy Spirit living in me, resurrection to look forward to, unconditional love and mercy, spiritual gifts, health and education, able to live in a country free from war and persecution, and finally, the promise of eternal life!

indeed, God is sooo good! how could i not be content with what i have? how could i not be eternally grateful? how could i not live my life in a way pleasing to Him and serve Him with all that i have?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EXAMS OVER!

...

well until next term that is. *sigh* C'est la vie...

some sharing

it's been a long time since i've shared here about things deeper than what i did on my weekend. i suppose the real reason for it is because i haven't been feeling that great for a while and felt like i had nothing to share.

I find myself looking up to older Christians in my church, some of them leaders, and I find myself so amazed and encouraged by their perseverance and godliness. And i look at my own life and i think: there's so much sin here- i'll never be as godly a Christian as they are! Deep down, i'm very aware of my own flaws and weaknesses, as well as my continual failure of doing what is right even though i want to.

but here's the power of forgiveness; the power of the Cross. Shamefully sinful that i am, God chose ME before the creation of the world to be His child, Christ died a painful death on that day for MY sins, for my rebellion against God, and freely He offers me life. This I know.

So why don't I feel at peace or joyful? instead, i'm troubled and burdened, but i don't know why or by what.

I think it's because i've taken my eye off the Cross; I've stopped looking at things from an eternal perspective; my mind and heart is not set on things above; i'm too caught up with the world.

I'm tired. But though I can't see it, there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel. Just gotta put my faith in God to pull me through this, because there's no way i can do it myself.

this is ur official invite to:

BGR night!

BGR? i hear you say.... bouncing green rabbits? no no no...
boy girl relationships night.

where: West Ryde Hall, 1 Reserve St. West Ryde (next to Koorong)
when: 7:30pm to 9:30pm on the 30th of September
what: a night with great music, food, fun atmosphere, and a chance to find out what the Bible really says about relationships.
what to bring: yourself and a Bible would be good
how much: free!

Come along and you won't regret going; i promise you!

4 down - 2 to go

tick tock tick tock
the shuffling of papers
someone coughs gently
a blank page

torturous silence
heads down
pens scratching on tables
tick tock tick tock

minutes slide into hours
the sky is beautiful outside
four walls but no door
until...

tick tock tick tock
pens down!!
sigh of relief; it's over...
4 down - 2 to go

maxed out monday!

first day of exams.. here is my timetable:

6:45 > woke up + got dressed + ate breakfast etc etc

7:45 > arrived at school; everyone started stressing

8:30 - 10:30 > extension english exam! i loved the creative writing question... but i majorly stuffed the analytical bit...

10:30 - 11:00 > a bit of time to quickly eat my recess before next exam

11:00 - 12:15 > english speaking; i ended up being last! oh well... i was well within the time limit

12:45 > arrived at chatswood with kelly

1:00 - 2:00 > ate lunch with karin, kelly, and ash at GPK!!! soooo full at the end...

2:00 - 2:30 > but still able to fit in gelatissimo!

3:00 > arrived at penno station; but stupid bus didn't arrive for an hour; went to library to study instead

4:00 > got on bus (finally!)

4:30 > arrived home + showered + bummed around on internet

6:00 > ate dinner

6:30 - 9:30 > bible study fellowship at eastwood

10:00 > went to bed exhausted after a very tiring but satisfying first day of exams!

tomorrow > software design exam! then movies with my mum =)

unsw rocks!

i went to the open day yesterday for unsw... i was very impressed!! just so happened i had my camera with me (cough cough) so i took some photos for all those who were dutifully studying at home...


this is the quadrangle- not as nice as usyd agreed.. but the rest of the campus is 10 times nicer!


in front of the library (which btw is huge!)


international road... there were sooo many people! it was a lovely walk from the library down to the Roundhouse


i forgot what this building was... but how cool is it?? i wanted to go in to see what it was like on the inside; but we ran out of time =(

overall i had a really great time.. unsw is definitely the uni for me! and i can't wait till all the new buildings are finished (by 2006/2007!!)

oh yeah- i even saw the giant vending machine! (photo)

random

we were chatting about rollercoasters at lunch today. unfortunately it seems everybody in my group adores them; while i on the other lonely hand am not so enthusiastic about them. i really don't understand how it can be 'fun' to be scared to death rocketing downhill at a billion miles an hour...

i guess maybe coz some people like the feeling of being scared? maybe they equate that feeling with excitement coz of the adrenaline? i dunno... but i do know that there's plenty more ways to have fun than to go on a dangerous looking 10 storey tall structure with only a seatbelt between life and death!

i think this also explains why a lot of people love scary movies; whereas i don't like them one bit! there's plenty of shocks and scares in this world without deliberately going and paying to get scared in the cinemas! *shake head* i guess i'll never understand...

in the same way; i suppose i'll never understand how people could say that "Star Wars is boring!" ><