lost and found

Lost:

• any day without maths
• waking up late in the mornings

Found:

• a new common room + year 12 privileges!
• respect for year 12's in the form of a new badge??

oohhh... SHINY!!

reflections...

the tennis was just incredible. i can't believe federer was in tears at the end - what an emotional history-making moment!

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it's been 2 days since coming back from KYLC. after a long month where most of my friends have been away either overseas, on beach mission and KYC - the holidays are now drawing to a close and a new chapter of my life is waiting to begin.

already i find i'm struggling to live with that focus on eternity that i had at KYLC. already i miss being constantly challenged and encouraged by the Word, i miss the bond of friendship and fellowship, i miss having all my fears and pretences blown away by the power of the Gospel and being powerfully and humbly brought on my knees in light of God's glory.

it's a very stark contrast to what i know i will be facing this year. not only pressures of yr 12 - but i know i will feel lonely and misplaced in both sunday school and eyf as friends move on and groups change and shift. no longer will i go primarily for my own benefit and learning, but as a sacrifice on my part to use the time i have there to serve others.

it's so hard to stay content and joyful as i look ahead into this year with the utter certainty of hard times, difficult times, painful times coming up. i don't think i'm being overly dramatic - i'm just facing my reality.

and yet...

through Christ i have been raised from being dry bones to being alive; filled with God's Spirit. through Christ i have the hope of eternal life, of being forever with God and forever dwelling in His presence, praising him with brothers and sisters from all around the world. through Christ i have been set free from the clutches of sin and walk as a forgiven child of God - continually being transformed by the power of His Word - all for His glory!

i know God is in control of my life ... all I have to do is trust Him and walk beside Him knowing that He is my Good Shepherd.

in the words of Switchfoot- "The Setting Sun" from their album "Nothing is Sound"

My hope runs underneath it all the day that I'll be home
It won't be long, I belong somewhere past this setting sun
Finally free, finally strong, somewhere back where I belong...

Pray that I may live my life on this earth reflecting where I truly belong - in heaven for all eternity to the honour and glory of the One who gave his life for me.

kylc 2006: what we do in life echoes in eternity...

It was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life.

How can I possibly sum up 5 days of intensively studying God's Word and being challenged and confronted with the truth and power of the Gospel? How can I possibly describe the fellowship and unity of brothers and sisters from all around Sydney gathered together to proclaim Jesus as Lord; of one heart and mind?

I was moved to tears, I laughed till I cried, I talked and chatted with people I've never met before, I've made new friends, I've discovered new things, I've been reminded afresh of God's love, I've grown in my relationship with God, I want to go back.

The best memories are the ones you share with the ones you love. There have been so many wonderful and funny memories that I know we'll still be cracking the jokes up until next year. Thankyou my brothers and sisters in Christ for making the last 5 days feel like a slice of heaven!


uncle frankie doing azn squat :: uncle frankie being greedy


wingkei + clare :: emma + alice


where is the good news?? :: bad shepherds of Israel


how jelly was first created :: working hard on our bible studies


joey: "stop touching me!!" :: joey: "put me down! put me down!!"


CABC-WRers :: my very cool strand group


really really ridiculously goodlooking...? :: happy bday nate + jeff!!

for the rest of the photos visit my photo album: http://flyingdreams.dotphoto.com

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The morning talks on Ezekiel - click on the link:

1. The bad news: Death of Jerusalem
2. The good news: Shepherds not Oppressors
3. The good news: Clean and Fresh
4. The good news: Alive and Whole not Dead and Divided
5. The good news: Presence not Danger

The evening talks on Matthew - click on the link:

1. The Only Thing That Counts: Responding to the King
2. The Only Thing That Counts: Listening to the Judging King
3. The Only Thing That Counts: Waiting for the Returning King
4. The Only Thing That Counts: Living for the Dying King

pre-kylc!!

well tomorrow i'll be heading off for 5 days at Katoomba for KYLC. The theme this year is "what we do in life echoes in eternity" - i love it!! what a fantastic bible-intensive fellowship-filled week i'm going to have!!

i'm currently packing my bag (Abbotsleigh sportsbag - fits everything!) remembering my most important thing: hair-straightener!

i'm going to miss my bed but i won't be doing that much sleeping for the next few days anyways so no worries =)

oh the relief!!

i woke up at 8:30 this morning (after waking up at least 6 times during the night coz i didn't sleep too well) to get ready for a 9:30 driving lesson with Uncle Pat. We drove around Hornsby for about an hour then went to the RTA for my driving test.

Ever get the queasy feeling that you're about to throw up? well that's how i was feeling as i was standing there waiting for the test... it was scheduled for 11:20 but it wasn't until 11:30 that i actually got into the car to start.

the actual test was only for about 20min but it was one of the most nerve-racking things i've ever done =S i almost thought i'd failed when i forgot to take the handbrake off (twice! doh) but my reverse parking was perfect hehe =)

finally we went back to the RTA and uncle Pat reassured me that he was sure i didn't fail but i was still quite anxious until i got my logbook back with the Red P plate on top - Yay I passed!!! *PHEW* no more having to scab lifts off people!!

and to celebrate- we're going out for dinner tonight! haha

nothing is sound!

I LOVE my new album!!! i'm listening to it for the 2nd time and even though it's much more rock than The Beautiful Letdown there's some really meaningful lyrics that i love =)

I found the following post by a fellow blogger who sort of explains the meaning behind some of the songs in Nothing is Sound...

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The album starts out with "Lonely Nation," a song that begins this album with many of the themes found in Letdown. Songwriter Foreman talks about how we are slaves to what we want, and because we have wanted the wrong things, we have ended up empty. An interesting theme that raises the simple question: What is it that we are supposed to want? A question he will answer later.

"Lonely Nation" is followed up with "Stars," the first single off Sound. The question that Foreman raised in "Lonely Nation" he begins to answer with this line from "Stars": "I've been thinking about the meaning of resistance..of a hope beyond my own...And suddenly the infinite and penitent begin to look like home." If we want anything less than the infinite (God), then we will be left wanting.

"Happy is a Yuppie Word" could perhaps be described as 'Ecclesiastes: The Song.' Ecclesiastes starts with the line "Meaningless, Meaningless, says the Teacher. Everything is Meaningless." Foreman echoes these lines with "Everything Fails. Everything run its course. A time and place for all this love and war." No doubt this is a reference to Ecclesiastes 3. But, in the midst of lack of meaning, Foreman finds his hope in God, yet again when he says: "I don't believe the emptiness, I'm looking for the kingdom coming down." This song is about getting past just being 'happy' and finding true fulfillment, something that comes is impossible to come by, apart from God.

It is not until the fourth song where Switchfoot matches beautiful lyrics with even better music. Although I liked the first three songs, it is Track 4, titled "The Shadow that Proves the Sunshine" that made me begin to believe Sound is not just a good, but a great album. Foreman has already been talking about the failures in our lives, but this song describes the true sense of our mistakes. Foreman describes the human race as "Crooked Soul trying to stay up straight...dry eyes in the pouring rain." But our mistakes ('shadows') are washed away in the forgiveness God is ready to give us ('sunshine'). The song ends with the line: "Let my shadows prove the sunshine." In other words, our failures only prove the goodness of God, his faithfulness to forgive our sins.

"Easier than Love" brings up the theme of lack of fulfillment Foreman discusses in "Happy is Yuppie Word." The hardest part of this is owning up to who we truly are: "It's easier to leave. It's easier to lie. It's harder to face ourselves at night, feeling alone, what have done, what is the monster we've become."

How do we find freedom from such mistakes? "The Blues" deals with this idea, but more specifically it deals with when we have found forgiveness. When we have found forgiveness, can we trust it? After all, the mistakes seem to never leave, our failures repeat themselves. Foreman echoes Romans 3:23 when he writes: "is there nothing here worth saving? is there no one here at all?...are there any left who haven't kissed the enemy?". The answer is obviously no. But we can trust the forgiveness of God because 'when the world caves in' everything will be okay.

"The Setting Sun" is a perfect follow up to "The Blues," because the pain and hurt in "The Blues" disappears. "My hope runs underneath it all the day that I'll be home...Finally free, finally strong, somewhere back where I belong."

One of the weaker tracks on the album is "Politicians." Foreman starts out with a good idea, that we should stop blaming politicians for problems and look at ourselves. However, in the end this song doesn't call us to change, just that we should be a part of a land without politicians.

"Golden" is such a perfect song for this album because after Foreman talks repeatedly about how we have failed as humans, it would be natural for one to think that humanity is not valuable. However, that is completely false. We are not "just another so and so" as Foreman writes, but rather "you are golden, you are golden child." And because we are so golden, "everything will be made new again like freedom in the spring." Our failures are not the final word, only a stepping stone to the new creation God wants to make in us.

After a song like "Golden," it is hard to imagine why Switchfoot would follow it up with a song like "The Fatal Wound." There is no doubt Foreman has a gift for talking about humanity's mistakes, but this song seemed like overkill.

If you can get past "The Fatal Wound," "We are One Tonight" is the perfect sequel to the song "Golden." "We are One Tonight" reminds us that "though the world is flawed these scars will heal/We are one tonight." There is a healing between humanity as well as between humanity and God in redemption.

The official last track, titled "Daisy," echoes the lyric "let it go." This is a fitting ending to the CD. After all, the themes of failures, our longing for something more, the disappointment of our lives have been prominent throughout Nothing is Sound. We can let it go because "For all redemptive motion and every rainy day/He gives Himself away." Let go of our sin, let go of our failures, because there is a God ready to embrace us.

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To read the whole post click [here]

untitled/weird day

how cool is this??? =D thanks emma!! what an ingenious and creative gift - just what i needed! (it's an earring holder)



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meanwhile today i went back to school for a meeting with Mr R. and Mr K. about that website that i'm designing for them. It was so weird walking thru in NOT my school uniform and also that there was absolutely no one there - spooky!

I walked into MC4 (our computer room) and was stunned to see all the flat-screen monitors gone - replaced by ... laptops? there were rows and rows of laptop bags on the ground, and mountainous piles of boxes everywhere... i wonder if we're going to get our own laptops or they're just updating the hardware? who knows... no wait! i reckon all the other computers are going to go to the new library thats currently being built....

anyway, the meeting went for abt an hour and a half and afterwards i had to walk down to wahroonga station and catch the train back to pennant hills. unfortunately when i got to hornsby, there was 30min until the next train... so i went to get something to eat to pass the time. the asian lady at the counter looked up when i entered and i askd her if she had any hot food. she replied in kind of fobbish accent that they didn't.

i didn't really feel like eating chips so i ordered 2 teriyaki chicken sushi rolls. (the whole time i was looking around she kept eyeing me beadily...) once i ordered, she told me: "Four doe-llar ay-ti" so i was trying to get the coins out of my wallet when she looks up at me and asks: "where u from?" i was a little surprised and a bit confused at this question... was she asking where i lived?

anyway she must've seen the confusion on my face so she asked: "japanese?" at this point i was thinking... "what?!" but i said instead: "no.. Hong Kong" and i walked out of her shop wondering whether she thought i was jap just coz i bought sushi! =S

finally the train arrived - i got sick of hearing "next train on platform 3 goes to Central.. first stop: Normanhurst then all stations to Epping, then Strathfield, Burwood and all stations to Central" i got on and there was only one other person on the carriage (this was at 11am mind u) . After a while i hear "excuse me" i turn around and look at her- a girl abt my age, somewhat plump with long curly blonde hair and incessantly chewing gum, i hate to sound mean- but she didn't look the smart type u know what i mean? anyway, she asks me- "does this train go to chatswood?" i politely told her that it didn't- it only goes to Central and that she should've taken Platform 1, not Platform 3...

umm.. hello!! this is the Northern Line not the North Shore Line! why didn't she check before she got on the train and it started moving?? aiyah i just don't understand... and she could've looked on the map if she wasn't sure...

food...

it's always a great feeling when you cook something and it turns out looking and tasting great! haha my latest thing: apple and raspberry muffins!

"light and fluffy texture with the simple sweetness of real apple and the all natural goodness of fresh raspberries in one delectable mouthful!"

not bad eh? especially seeing as i modified the recipe which was originally for banana and blueberry muffins - i had neither banana nor blueberries at home.

i would post up the recipe here - but someone wise told me the other day that i should keep good recipes secret =P

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my internet connection broke down the last couple of days which is why i didn't post this up earlier - it's soo frustrating and so erratic but at least while it's down i have plenty of books to read and DVDs to watch (not to mention WORK to do ... however right now i'm improving on my procrastination skills...)

freebie!! (not)

being the el cheapo asian i found this offer very enticing!!

FREE 4GB Apple Ipod Nano just by clicking on the following link:

http://www.getitfree.net/xgxsouvy

I'm curious as to whether this is for real or not! haha only way to know is to test it out!

-- edit --

if you read the fine print; this is what you see: THIS IS A SCAM!!!

oh you get the Ipod for FREE alright -- after you spend $50 on a "sponsored offer"

if there's one thing i've learned, it's that the World has many devious ways of trying to suck you into its materialistic greedy mentality.

thankyouuuuuu!!

To everyone who sent me a message, shouted out on their blog, sent me an e-card or an email and wished me a happy birthday: a huge THANKS!!

God has been truly gracious to me and my 17th birthday ends with much praise and thanksgiving to Him for all He has done and for His endless love poured out upon me. He has blessed me with loving family and friends and I am overwhelmed to have so many people who care about me because I know I am so unworthy.

In everything I pray that I may be godly and bring all glory and honour back to Him. I know this year will be tough but knowing that my God and Lord who loved me so much as to send Christ to die; watches over and protects me is the greatest comfort and a tremendous source of joy.

17 years have I walked upon this earth, and it is with much gladness and expectation that I look forward to the coming of my Saviour who one day will take me home to be with Him forever. Come Lord Jesus!!

birthday bbq

thanks everyone for an awesome unforgettable day!! photos coming later when Dan uploads them but i'm so happy and so tired right now. It started with the everyone coming an hour and 15 minutes late and with the wonderful surprise of receiving "Bible Doctrine" signed by all these famous theologians! I can't believe u guys went to so much effort; thanks!!

the food was fantastic (and never-ending) and it was so great to feel all the love and fellowship especially as we kept dipping into little Joey + Jeff's buckets. As we now all know little Joey is blind and Jeff is that kind of guy! hahaha nah it was awesome...

we gave all the remaining chicken wings to Joey as he kept losing (and breaking non-existent rules) before we walked down to the park. The stupid stuff guys do became apparent there-- including belting each other with a mini soccer ball and attempting to sit on the baby swing as well as offering themselves as moving targets on the flying fox!

when we got back we had just enough room to eat the birthday cake as well as tiramisu (jeff turned his into a plate of gruel) then we got cracking on a game of Monopoly... poor little Joey + Wingkei - they were doomed to lose from the very beginning...

thanks again my dear brothers and sisters in Christ! May God bless you in the way you have been a blessing in my life. Turning 17 isn't so scary when I have such loving and encouraging friends to support me and be there for me =)

-- Edit @ 10:20am 3rd Jan 2006

PHOTOS [here] !! credits to Dan

-- Edit @ 2:46pm 3rd Jan 2006

The new CBS logo (inspired by the hot centaur from narnia)