CG recap/summary

Pursuit of Holiness - Foundations for Holy Living

Opening question:
What's sin?
- big sin vs little sin

- sin is rebellion against God: ignoring Him, disobeying His commands

1. What is holiness?
- to be without sin

- God is without sin - He is Holy. Lev 11:45

- God in turn commands us to be holy Heb 12:14 "without holiness no one will see the Lord"

- But we know we are not holy- because we all sin. Rom 3:10-12

- Something must be done about the problem of sin before we can be holy.

2. What has Jesus done for us?
- Acts 20:21 - if we repent of our sins and have faith in Jesus; our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is restored, through his death on the Cross

- 2 Cor 5:21 - we are accepted by God because of Christ's righteousness on our behalf

3. What does it mean to repent?
- Involves two things: one - To turn away from our sin and our former way of life. Two - to start living God's way as chosen and saved people of God.

- Rom 6:6-7 - we have died to sin, Eph 1:4 - purpose of salvation is to be holy and blameless

- Titus 2:11-12 - the same grace by which we have been saved also teaches us to be holy and godly.

- 1 John 1:5-7 - we cannot have a relationship with God if we continue to sin, but as we live holy lives, we experience true Christian fellowship and understand the need for Christ's redeeming death in providing forgiveness.

4. Jesus as Saviour AND Lord:
- Matthew 7:21-23 - only those who do God's will ie are obedient ie are HOLY are true Christians. On the last day- will Jesus recognise you?

- Just because you do things that make you look like a Christian eg prophesy, drive out demons, perform miracles = go to church, do quiet times, pray - doesn't mean you are saved. True faith brings with it a desire to be holy, a desire to be obedient to God, all out of overflowing thankfulness for God's mercy and love through Jesus' death on the Cross.

- Jesus is also our example of how to be holy: "I always do what pleases Him" (Jn 8:29) Can we honestly say that? That everything we do is to please God?

5. Work hard at your holiness:
- Gal 5:17 - Though we have died to sin ie been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light; we still struggle with our sinful natures.

- Gal 5:16 - what does it mean to live by the Spirit? It means to live in both obedience TO and dependence ON the Holy Spirit.

- How to depend on the Spirit: one - read your Bibles daily to allow the HS to convict us of our sin. Two - pray daily for help from HS to live in holiness.

- We have to be committed and serious about getting rid of sin in our lives.

Read Col 3:1-17 for next time =)

the complex art of 4U maths

The masterpiece after 200 minutes of Maths on Wednesday from 7:30am to 5pm
credit: Helen

we all s2 hash brown!!

any excuse not to do work is fine by me

THINK OF 20 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF AND TAG SOMEONE ELSE FOR EVERY MINUTE YOU NEED TO THINK

1. When people recognise me and say hi, I wave and smile and say hi back, but I'm wondering the whole time whether I actually know that person or not.

2. I smell food particularly fruit before I eat it.

3. I've always wished I was artistic; either draw or dance or paint

4. I always have flying dreams; and I think it's because of my lifelong desire to be free

5. I am scared of falling off rollercoasters.

6. I tend to write about painful emotions in poems

7. I don't know if I want to have children; I'm scared I'll be a bad mum.

8. I used to be allergic to kiwi fruit and mangoes (used to!!! not anymore!!!)

9. I can't stand American accents

10. I don't consider myself a nerd

11. I hate it when people think I get good results because I'm smart and that hard work and study has nothing to do with it.

11. I consider loyalty one of the greatest attributes a friend should have.

12. I drink tea without sugar

13. My favourite font is Verdana, size 8

14. I get very grumpy if I get called to do chores while I'm reading a book

15. I would rather people yell at me instead of giving me the silent treatment if they're angry at me.

16. I go on MSN at very strange hours ie only in the afternoons when no one else is on

17. I think that I think too much

18. I hate finding sand in my ears after going to the beach

19. I love the smell of rain

20. My sister and I have completely opposite personalities.

i should be studying....

it's been almost a week since i last posted... very unusual for me since i usually post every 2 days as a regular blogger... but i'm afraid since year 12 started, i've been extremely busy; and neglecting my poor blog...

but i am SO SICK of chemistry i decided to procrastinate a bit and study later... i already studied 2 hours yesterday, and after 30 minutes today my concentration has already deflated to nothing... it's so bad, i don't feel motivated to study at all....

finding it soo difficult just to keep my eyes open!

*

onto more interesting news- i finally got my own copy of Switchfoot; the beautiful letdown!! i was debating with myself whether instead to buy the new album but since the new one was more expensive and also coz i didn't know whether i'd like the songs on it or not; i went with the safer (and cheaper) choice...

also, i'm getting my braces off on December 12th!!! which means i'll be brace-less in time for my baptism - 18th December!!!

just saw the [trailer] for the new Pride and Prejudice - i really really wanna see it!! just coincidence; it's coming out on my dad's birthday! arrrghhh must wait until after HSC before i can start hinting to my parents; anyone interested?? (emma??)

i think my computer hates me

my computer was sitting there, with no programs running, and i was working on maths homework at the nearby table. all of a sudden, i hear a noise from the computer - i look up; and it's gone and restarted itself!! so i wait till it loads, and log in again so after i finished my homework i could use it... but 10 minutes later, it does it again!!

i quickly got out a CD to burn a copy of My Documents onto it as backup, which i had to do twice as the computer restarted itself halfway while the CD was being burnt... and transferred all my precious files ie chemistry notes! onto the other laptop for safekeeping...

this has happened one time before, and my dad reckoned he had fixed it; but obviously it's come back, and i think it's a virus ><

it might be a nice idea to start hinting to get a new computer, don't you think?

tolerating tolerance

i always get worked up whenever i hear the word "tolerance". This idea is taught widely in schools and is accepted to be part of society. But tolerance has turned into some mushy ideal of accepting everything.

Tolerance in terms of cultural differences is good- obviously different cultures have different customs and these things can be and should be tolerated. But there are many things in society that should not be tolerated.

People think that tolerance promotes social stability. But accepting everything, whether it is good or bad? Like tolerating gays and homosexuals- because everyone is allowed to choose to live a certain 'lifestyle'. Have we become a society with no morals whatsoever?

We tolerate foul language, constant sexual references and extreme violence on the TV and in movies. Not only this, but the very idea of tolerance means that everyone is right in their own way. Twist this idea around and you get the idea that there is no absolute truth. This idea is appalling to me and is simply sickening. If there's no such thing as truth, then there is no such thing as lies. There's no such thing as right and wrong. We have progressed so deep into sin that we believe there's no such thing as sin.

Don't talk to me about tolerance. I simply won't tolerate it.

How Many Students Does It Take To Screw On A Light Bulb?

warning: this following post may offend some people (but personally i laugh coz it's so true!)

Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College - Two. One to change the light bulb. The other to mind her spot in the canteen line.

PLC - One. She holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.

Sydney Grammar - Two. One to change the bulb and one to crack under the pressure.

James Ruse Agricultural - Four. One to design a nuclear powered one that never needs changing, two to install it and one to write the computer program that controls the switch.

Loretto Kirribilli - One. She'll put through a call to maintenance staff because there's no way she's going to do manual labour.

King's - Two. One to change the globe faster than anyone in the GPS and one to show him around the school afterwards.

Knox Grammar - Two. One to install the new bulb completely powered by testosterone and one to brag about it loudly.

Riverside Girls - Five. one to change the bulb, while the rest watch out for the flasher while maintaining it is "their right as women in john howards electorate"

Ravenswood - Five. One to change the bulb, two to reassure her that she doesn't look fat at the top of the ladder and two to circulate photos showing that she does.

Abbotsleigh - Four. One to smash the glass ceiling so that they can get to the top of the ladder, one to install the globe and two to check that it's brighter than PLC's. (hahahahahahaha!!!)

Killara High - Two. One to change the bulb and one to write to the North Shore Times about how she did it as well as any private school student.

Macdonald college - Five. One to change the bulb and four to do interpretive dance about how the light feels.

Joey's - Fifteen. It's not that one's not smart enough, it's just that they're a team and they have to form a lineout and get the backs into position.

Barker College - Fifteen. One to change it and the rest to walk around as if they own the place and talk it up.

Queenwood - Depends, could be one, could be ten, no-one is prepared to commit unless the Shore boys are definitely going to be there.

Our Lady of Mercy College - Five, one to screw it in, two to laugh about the word screw and two to message the St Pius boys about it.

St Pius X - Three, one to get word around that the Mercy girls are talking about a screw, one to replace the bulb and one to pray that they get it done in time to beat the Chatswood High boys.

Kincoppal - Three. One to change it and two to make sure her hair ribbons are still in place afterwards.

Sydney Girl's High - One and she was determined to get better results than the Sydney Boys.

Sydney Boy's High - None. They didn't have to, the Sydney Girls insisted on showing them how it was done.

North Sydney Girl's - One and she will make sure it was the best installation ever.

North Sydney Boy's - None. They were off playing basketball.

Tara - Five. One to replace the globe, three to figure out that she screwed it in upside down and one to phone her brother at Kings and him to send over his mates to show them how to screw the right way up.

Oakhill - Twelve. One to go to Towers to buy it. Ten to go down there with him to hang out at the bus stop. And one to change it.

Leichhardt High - Four. One to order a Venetian chandelier from her cousin Roberto who owns a lighting warehouse and imports from the old country, one to arrange delivery cause his sister's husband Tony has an uncle whose mate, Angelo, has a truck, one to put the squeeze on his neighbour Dominic the electrician because he owes him a favour and make sure everything is done cash.

Cheltenham - None. No one can climb the ladder cos they're skirts are too short!!!

Cherrybrook Tech - Two. One to change it and one to make sure that everyone has huge stuffed toys hanging off their phones.

pre-year 12 + bgr reflections

pre-year 12 reflections:

it's been a very *short* but satisfying holidays. i've had my chance to catch up on sleep, go out with friends, read Christian books and refresh myself. but year12 sounds so scary. i've even had a couple of nightmares about it recently- one where my chemistry lessons were replaced with dentistry on my timetable! ahhhh!!!!

but seriously, i KNOW it's going to be one long year coming up, filled with stress and workloads disproportionate to my time and.. lots and lots of maths homework. but, it's not all bad. everyone says year 12 is the best year of high school. i'm sure it will also be filled with fun and fond memories as well as many many outreach opportunities and witnessing for Christ! i also hope it will be a year where i can have more freedom as well as rising responsibilities. and i know i won't be alone- God has richly blessed me with many loving and supportive brothers and sisters in Christ, who i already know will encourage me to live for Christ and with eternal perspective- just thinking about u guys now makes me smile =)

*

BGR reflections:

a few points about dating-
- Bible doesn't say much about it; however from talking to people with past experiences, it's best to leave dating until uni. why? because the whole point of dating is marriage. in high school, most people don't even think about marriage, so why bother dating? the only two outcomes from dating are breakup and marriage, which means that if you date during high school, you're setting yourself up to get hurt by breakup.
- just because you like someone doesn't necessarily mean you have to date them. a lot of the time, dating can ruin a perfectly good friendship with someone you like. this is because in most cases after two people breakup, they never talk to each other ever again. so if it's two months dating someone or 20 years as good friends, I'd choose being good friends anyday.

what about marriage?
- Bible explicitly says that Christians are to marry Christians. why is this so? If one person lives for God, but their partner lives for themselves, this makes a very difficult relationship because the two are going in totally opposite directions.
- there are many more points on marriage such as what if you marry someone and then you become a Christian etc, but most of them are specific to a situation, and these are only just general points to give an outline of what we covered on BGR night.

all-time favourite quotes--

- Dijon vu = "This mustard tastes familiar."
- Daysa vu = "This is the same storyline they did on that other soap opera."
- Deja moo = "I swear that's the exact same cow we passed about six miles ago."
- Vuja De = That feeling you've never been here before.
- Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before
- I always try to go the extra mile at work, but my boss always finds me and brings me back.
- I went for a walk last night and my kids asked me how long I'd be gone. I said: The whole time.
- Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hairstyle you like.
- It's not an optical illusion, it just looks that way.
- On the other hand, you have different fingers.
- As easy as 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841.
- I used to have a handle on life, then it broke.
- Polynesia: Memory loss in parrots.
- Support Search & Rescue - GET LOST!
- I like children. Properly cooked.
- Some women get excited about nothing and then marry him.
- If everything seems to be coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane.
- I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.
- Is there another word for synonym?
- The statement below is true.
- The statement above is false.
- All general statements are false.
- Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?
- If two wrongs don't make a right, try three.
- My parents made me what I am today. I'm thinking of suing.
- 90% of all statistics are made up
- Statistics show every two minutes another statistic is created.
- Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
- If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
- If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished!
- I am in shape. Round is a shape.
- Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him.
- If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have trouble putting on your pants.
- No, 'Eureka' is Greek for 'This bath is too hot.'
- Foosh. Aaughh!! Foosh. Aauuggghh!!...Cold spray deodorant....
- I go to bed early. My favorite dream starts at nine.
- There are three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't.
- 5 out of 4 people don't understand fractions.
- Diplomacy - the art of letting someone have your way.
- Color... it's just a pigment of your imagination.
- Don't use a big word where a diminutive one will suffice.
- You're so open-minded, your brains fell out.
- Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
- I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
- Energizer Bunny arrested; charged with battery.
- Help Wanted: Telepath. You know where to apply.
- A good pun is its own reword.
- It doesn't matter what temperature the room is; it's always room-temperature.
- It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes.
- We live in an age when pizza gets to your home before the police.
- There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot.
- Ten out of ten people surveyed in the street are pedestrians.
- 'You want us to do WHAT?' - Ancient Chinese wall engineer.
- Do you believe in love at first sight or should I drive by again?
- I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting to get into the bathroom.
- Did Noah keep his bees in archives?
- 'Scattered showers my ass.' – Noah
- Carpe diem - Sieze the day; Carp in denim - There's a fish in my pants!
- Don't judge a book by its movie.
- I'm not cynical. Just experienced.
- If it weren't for caffeine I'd have no personality whatsoever!
- Dance like nobody's watching.... We all need a laugh now and then.
- Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he'll be a mile away and you've got his shoes.

that's right: we all need a laugh now and then =)

long weekends go by too quickly!

perfect beach weather @ Wollongong


mum and me


dad and bea


so peaceful...

currently: all maxed out

congratulations andy & irene!!!

(be patient! lots of photos...)


the happy couple =)


clare, emma and me


the girls + photo crashers in the background


the boys, putting on their best wedding faces


remember when we were little?


the greatest moment of joey's life


"I really hope this doesn't break"


in ascending height order


the zoolander look


everyone!

for the rest of the photos --> http://flyingdreams.dotphoto.com