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the child. princess of God. gospeliter. 10111991. hmss091011. npech. B0108091011. hiclub. fencer. guides. 12c30405. 34s20607. crescent. the younger days. July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 November 2010 the peers. charmaineng henrietta samantha YOUTH. youth a big message a big mission glcc bernice chiawen daphne giolo ian jessica jiahao jonmuk kennethchai lesley lynnshan malcolm markchia melody ruth sicheng B01 [08091011]. B01 [08091011] afifah amirahlee daphne jieling kaiting latifah michelleling pengswee rongxuan tammie weiqian yvonne yiting SYFC. estherhuang marcus ruixin sheena sheryl vanessa HMS.NP. keala fencing alicia chuhui darren fiona hidayah jasmine juian kayyong madalene matthewhan romaine ronny tecky wayne CRESCENT. guides eileen
the interactions. the thanks. Base code:OHsaygoodbye Image: sxc.hu |
30 August 2006 ! at 12:35 AM ! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL! Father, I pray that You'll help me, help me manage my time well. Help me to be able to complete my assignments on time and still have time to revise for the year end exam. Help me especially in the coming week, the September 'holidays', to be able to squeeze everything in. With so much to do and so little time at hand it seems, help me Father, help me. Help me to make time for You despite all the business of life and school. Make time for You and Father, I know You'll make time for me, somehow. Lead me Lord, I pray. Help me to read Your word daily, and pray daily, and to find comfort in You. Help me to make You my pillar of strength, to depend on You always, make You my belayer. Help me Lord, to cast all my burdens and cares of this world on to You and come to You in total peace. Father teach me what it is to feel peace, to have a still and calm heart, so peaceful, so still, so calm, nothing can ever shaken it. Father make my heart light, take away all my sorrows and troubles, and leave me with nothing but You. Because only You can fill me. Lord thank You for the many comforters You've placed next to me. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN! Yup I feel much better now. I feel much peaceful and assured after praying.(: Okay then. I got to go le, finish up homework and SLEEP! :D <3, CASS. 26 August 2006 ! at 7:55 PM ! Well, yesterday adel and lois came to my church! :D I'm glad they enjoyed themselves and I'm hoping to be able to invite them back again and that they can come regularly!(: And yesterday though, I nearly died. Edmund wanted to use my tablet and he asked me to do the clicking of the powerpoint slides and all and I nearly died. There were a couple of times then when I NEARLY FORGOT I have to click the powerpoint slide and I was just there happily singing away! D: But thank God that I manage to click in time! Ohmytian. AND THEN, DURING SERVICE, EDMUND HAPPILY WENT TO SIT SOMEWHERE ELSE AT THE BACK, CAUSING ME TO NEARLY DIE AGAIN. And I was so blur please! I was totally don't know whether to click or not to click the next button and etc etc. Thank God it was pretty okay. BUT STILL. I NEARLY DIED. I could have killed Edmund ah. Well, the most embarrassing was the announcements part! I thought my msn status was that I was offline. APPARENTLY NOT. And someone added me during that time and I NEARLY DIED AGAIN when it was shown on the screen! D: I was so paiseh please! And Edmund says he won't sit next to me and guide me along anymore! Wah lao, bully me only lor! I hope next week will be better and I just realised, I won't be here next next week! I have the stupid patrol leaders' training camp! I'll be off to camp christine and I'll be sleeping in the sleeping bag on the grass again. There goes my holidays! And. MY SIM CARD IS SPOILT. That is one depressing news seeing as of yesterday, I couldn't call or sms! D: I MISS MY SIM CARD! Well, I'll just have to go get my free replacement card! <3, CASS. 24 August 2006 ! at 10:45 PM ! I don't know what to do anymore, not anymore. <3, CASS. 21 August 2006 ! at 6:00 PM ! A thousand times I've failed Still Your mercy remains Should I stumble again I'm caught in Your grace Everlasting Your light will shine when all else fades Never ending Your glory goes beyond all fame Your will above all else My purpose remains The art of losing myself In bringing You praise Everlasting Your light will shine when all else fades Never ending Your glory goes beyond all fame My heart and my soul Lord I give You control Consume me from the inside out Lord let justice and praise Become my embrace To love you from the inside out Everlasting Your light will shine when all else fades Never ending Your glory goes beyond all fame And the cry of my heart Is to bring You praise From the inside out Lord my soul cries out saw these lyrics on sherylteo's blog. and so i decided to listen to the song and to my surprise, it was a really sweet and reflective song. i don't know what kind of song i was expecting but still, it surprises me. i think God never fails to surprise us, in many lovely ways, ways so lovely and wonderful we would never have thought of them. haha and now i love this song too(: it's really meaningful, especially the first few lines. many times, all of us say we want to surrender our lives to God, give Him everything, but yet, again and again we fail. after a few days of surrendering, we return to our old ways and forget about God, only to surrender our lives to Him all over again. it's like a cycle, an unbroken cycle that keeps repeating itself. and personally, i'm sick of this cycle. i wanna break free from it, and not just keep surrendering my life to God , only to tak eit back and then surrendering it to Him all over again. i want to surrender my life to God once and for all, never to take it back and never to have to surrender it to Him again. but the best thing is, even though we fall and fail and stumble, i know God will always be there for us. He'll catch us safely and try to bring us back to Him. and indeed, even if all the other kights in this world fade away, and everything is in pitch darkness and blackness, God's light will still shine on and on because it is everlasting and thank God He has given us His everlasting light so we have no need to fear even if everything else fades away for we won't be in pitch darkness, we'll be in God's everlasting light. and indeed, fame is nothing compared to His glory. his glory is never ending, unlike fame where you have to depend on whether others will like you a not to continue having fame. God's glory depends not on untrusty and fickle-minded men, but on Himself only and it will be never ending because it is boundless and limitless, unlike fame which dies off after a couple of years. and His will is above everything single thing on this earth because Hie will is perfect and flawless. and when we lose ourselves in God, there we will actually find ourselves, our true selves. and losing ourselves in God will bring praise and glory to His name. i love the chorus, the part where i felt touched by it too. letting God take control of me from the inside out, from deep within where no one else but only God and i can see. and to let Him take control from there would mean to let His love and light shine from within me, so that everyone can see that its real and true and from deep within. i think its really true, like how we must like God from the inside out, and not just on the surface, but really need to feel the passion and love for Him to do His works for His glory! and i want to love Him from the deepest of my soul, feel the reality of His love(: lovelovelove this song alot! all thanks to sherylteo haha. :D oh yeah. i'm sick): got stomach flu i think. terrible stomachache and had lots of vomitting and visits to the toliet D: gsh though thank God its much better now after i went to the doctor. hopefully my mum will let me go for friday worship this friday! <3, CASS. ! at 1:05 AM ! Let the Earth rejoice See the risen King From the glads of praise He's exalted forever See the heavens open wide And His glory like a God Fill the earth with salvation See the nations take His hand And in righteousness, they stand This is Jesus generation We will rise with Him Son of righteousness And the Earth will shake In the glory of heaven Glory, glory, glory, Emmanuel, God is with us Love this song(: I think it's really inspiring, it gives me a goal, to turn this generation and the next, and the next, and the next, and the rest of all the future generations into Jesus generation! Generations after generations of future people just giving and surrendering their lives to God and are being Jesus-centered! It's just wonderful, visioning generations of people after generations, all living lives for Christ! It just brings joy to my heart and it's just wonderful and the whole world will be a much better place to live in! :D Haha Jamie wants me to blog about my life as usual. Think I will(: Well so far, lots been happening in school. There's this buzz that's going round. Well, apparently somebody took an extra copy of the bio test and then photocopied it and passed copies of it around so some people knew of the questions before the test. Rah. And then someone told a teacher and it just got blown up like that. And as if my class doesn't have a bad enough record already, and now with this cheating case, the record's to the bottom already. Plus, we're the S class, and many teachers don't like us, they think we're irresponsible, insensible, immatured people. And I guess some of us just proved it to them. Oh wells. And I hope it's not going to involve everybody. otherwise, I'll get serious offence, suspension and might even go into BETA records even though I'm innocent. Thank God I was downstairs at the canteen having recess just before the bio test :D Therefore, I am in no way involved in this thing. Grr. Though it's still irritating having teachers scolding you lesson after lesson and telling you lesson after lesson about honesty and intergrity and all that. It's drilled into my brain already. And having uniform check every single Amaths/PE period. And having all the teachers being disappointed with my class and all. Grr. Last friday I was especially angry with penny ang. Not like I was gonna disturb the rest of the entire class by staying in the class to quietly pack my things. She gave us just 10 seconds, and all my things were like, all over the place! D: In the end I had to just grab all of my stuff and try to balance my way to the nearest table to pack them into my bag nicely. And worse, I'm a naturally messy person and so my things were literally ALL OVER THE PLACE. Grr. Well after that I went talked to shuyi and adel and found out that history mass lecture was cancelled. And so I decided to go with them and michelle and lois to Settlers. A gaming cafe. But to my surprise, it's not like any other gaming cyber cafe. Instead, the cafe is like filled up to the brim with board games and card games and any other games but cyber games! It's healthy games and it doesn't encourage violence or call winners God or anything of that sort! Really enjoyed spending my afternoon there and we even decided to have the sec 3 guides outing there! I think it'll be an enjoyable experience(: And there's student package at 6 bucks only with 4 free hours of gaming and free-flow of drinks! Not including gst and food of course. And the nearest outlet to my school is at clarke quay(: So cool so cool! I wanna go there again someday, but I don't think it'll be on fridays lah cuz got worship and all and I'll be late if I stay till 6. Right, so after I left at about 6, I was thinking of going to buy the floorballs for joan when I realised the shop is closed cuz marcus told me so. Oh wells, had traffic jam and I ended up late for worship but was thank God, in time for the service(: After service, we thank God for eric, who was leaving to new york for studies I guess. And the surf2 and adult leaders sang and dedicated to him a very sweet song(: And eric gave a speech and well, it was his last friday and he's going off today I think. Well and that day, Ian asked all of us something I never thought about. What am I chasing after? Is it God? Or is it something else like money, friends, relationships, studies, games, etc etc. And I realised, I wasn't chasing after God like I thought I was. During prayer, he asked us to stand up, to take a stand against things which we were chasing that was not God. At first, I was pretty reluctant to stand. I thought to myself, ohmytian if I stand, it;ll be so embarrassing. But thank God He just opened my heart, and I realised, nothing is more embarrassing than to stand before God with my head hung in shame. What does it matter what people think of me? All it matters is how God thinks of me, what God thinks of me. And that's when I decided to take a stand against loving things of the world and I stood up, shameful but determined to change for the better. Yup and I really thank God for giving me chances after chances, and also for the courage to stand up and make a stand. It was really a reflective moment for me. Audrey lent me her black heels! I hope they fit x/ But the terribly silly and blur me left it behind and forgot to bring it home with me! D: And so I had to call around, and finally Yufei picked up his phone and answered my call and agreed to help me bring the shoes home and bring them for me next friday! :D And everybody's been chasing me for the stupid guide cookies! >< Rah I want mine too! :D Sat was rush rush rush! One busy hectic day for me! Wanted to go for the teenz outing but mum didn't allow. So I woke up at like, 12pm. Haha and had lunch and changed into jogging attire to go look for Wani and the computer club girls. I had promised them to be their actress for their advertisment competition! D: Gah arrived early and the others arrived late. So I ended up waiting for about half an hour before we took bus to Wani's house and it was like 2.15 by then. And I had to leave by 2.30! Okay realised we all didn't have nike shoe, then thank God Wani's sister had. So I borrowed it and went on the threadmill and ran for a while. And when they wanted to start filming, guess what! They had everything but the tape. -.- I nearly died waiting for them. And so they had to go and buy a tape and I really couldn't wait for them and so I ended up changing into my full guide uniform at Wani's house and I left with them as they went to buy tape and I went to the lrt to take mrt to tajong pagar mrt station where I was meeting some of the SYFC people for the CTI's concert! I was really excited but the weirdest thing was that I stuck out like a sore thumb because I was wearing my full guide uniform! But I had no choice because I had to rush for Queenstown's Campfire after that. So anyway, I was a little late in meeting them at the mrt station but I finally found them and so we walked to the DBS place. And the concert was great(: It was terribly funny and I laughed till my stomach hurt! Though I wanted the CDs they were giving out but I didn't get one in the end): But well, being able to attend the concert is good enough! :D Thank God He gave me this chance! Well the Carpenters were trying to speak chinese and it terribly funny! And they're a really nice bunch of people and they put up this skit which was really reflective and it got me thinking too. Like how a person can be close to God but still fail and fall away from God eventually when she succumbs to the ways and temptations of the world but eventually, the world leaves her high and dry, leaves her miserable and lonely, more hurt and broken than ever. And the worst, she seems to be trapped within them. But Christ is her escape, her way out. And to Christ, it doesn't matters how many times she's sinned or what sins she's committed and how bad they are, all it matters to Him is that she's willing to come back to Him. And so He'll welcome her home, with open arms, back into His kingdom. And once again, the emptiness and sadness she fills is all gone and she's back on the right path with her Savior(: Love the skit! Really nice and all(: Well had a free cup of anderson's vanilla ice-cream after that and rushed to redhill for dinner. Went to 7-11 and they didn't had any real food. So I bought some weird spagetti thingy and chocs. And ended up hungry still. And so I walked as I ate and nearly lost my way to Queenstown. Well ended up safely in Queenstown and the campfire started soon. Their campfire was really special, one that I'll remember. There was hardly any use of microphone and I guess it was because their sound system wasn't really good. Our sec two guides performed and danced and I think they really deserved the Best Item award and many other schools seem to think so but oh wells. Oh yeah I think the Juying Sec scouts were really well. Don't know what to say. At first I think they wanted to merge with us but apparently we didn't want to. And then after that during one of the songs we had to do a friendship dance. And they wanted to do with us, but I guess we were pretty huh? It's because we don't do this kind of things with guys I guess. Well so then the scouts were trying to invite us and just when the dance was about to start they were all standing next to us and we were like huh why are they standing next to us. And then, this guy who was next to me signalled and asked me to do the friendship dance with him. -.- It was so weird and I didn't know what to do so I was like oh okay and yeah. But it was weird they only did that song once because usually we do that song many many times and I love that song! It's really fun to do though, I'm not used to doing it with guys, like suddenly some tall person like that. And well after the entire campfire what really surprised me was that they prayed. They asked all of us to bow our heads in prayer and this guy lead us in prayer and I was really surprised but I thought that was kinda cool and innovative and something we should do at every campfire! But well, I don't think we'll do it at our campfire because there's very few Christians in our guide company. Well after that I had supper with the sec twos and Debbie was really sweet to get the dance girls cookies to cheer them up because she knew they were sad about not getting the award and I know they really wanted it and they practised really hard for it. Hey sec twos, you've been a great bunch of dancers and I all know you girls deserved that award and I love all of you and in my opinion, you danced better than other schools on that night and I know you all gave your best already so don't feel upset about not getting the award yeah? It's just your first try but I'm sure you'll all bring crescent guides to higher heights with your fabulous dancing(: And, the night ended soon.(: Well I went Causeway Point today to help get Samantha's phone fixed. Dont know how long more her phone will last but I hope, as long as possible. Oh yeah and Ian asked me to sign up for the Welcome Ministry and I went up to sign up only to realise that I hadn't bring a pen with me. But oh wells, I told him to sign me up then. And today, Edmund asked me to try out doing the powerpoint slides on Friday! Was really nervous and all, but this thank God for this brother who encouraged me and persuaded me to do it because he might have to go to campus. Yup so in the end I agreed and he spent like, half an hour teasing and bullying me lor and he still denies it! What rubbish! Haha so yup pray for me dear sisters and brothers, for guidance and for calmness and for whatever you think you can pray for me(: oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOYCEHOJIALER! :D Alrighty, I need to go sleep already! Nights everyone! :D <3, CASS. 16 August 2006 ! at 9:15 PM ! In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fundraising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son Shaya: One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya run home." Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection." It makes us step back and think what have we been doing in our lives. Are we only preoccupied with I, me and myself? Are we only concerned about winning? Do we have a heart for others? We need this kind of love to win this world. Lord, help us. The Soccer Goalie and His Dad I was watching some little kids play soccer. These kids were only five or six years old, but they were playing a real game - - a serious game: two teams, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents. I didn't know any of them; so I was able to enjoy the game without the distraction of being anxious about winning or losing - I wished the parents and coaches could have done the same. The teams were pretty evenly matched. I will just call them Team One and Team Two. Nobody scored in the first period. The kids were hilarious. They were clumsy and terribly inefficient. They fell over their own feet, they stumbled over the ball, they kicked at the ball and missed it but they didn't seem to care. They were having fun. In the second quarter, the Team One coach pulled out what must have been his first team and put in the scrubs, except for his best player who now guarded the goal. The game took a dramatic turn. I guess winning is important even when you're five years old -- because the Team Two coach left his best players in, and the Team One scrubs were no match for them. Team Two swarmed around the little guy who was now the Team One goalie. He was an outstanding athlete, but he was no match for three or four who were also very good. Team Two began to score. The lone goalie gave it everything he had, recklessly throwing his body in front of oncoming balls, trying valiantly to stop them. Team Two scored two goals in quick succession. It infuriated the young boy. He became a raging maniac -- shouting, running, diving. With all the stamina he could muster, he covered the boy who now had the ball, but that boy kicked it to another boy twenty feet away, and by the time he repositioned himself, it was too late -- they scored a third goal. I soon learned who the goalie's parents were. They were nice, decent-looking people. I could tell that his dad had just come from the office -- he still had his suit and tie on. They yelled encouragement to their son. I became totally absorbed, watching the boy in the field and his parents on the sidelines. After the third goal, the little kid changed. He could see it was no use; he couldn't stop them. He didn't quit, but he became quietly desperate; futility was written all over him. His father changed too. He had been urging his son to try harder - yelling advice and encouragement. But then he changed. He became anxious. He tried to say that it was okay - to hang in there. He grieved for the pain his son was feeling. After the fourth goal, I knew what was going to happen. I've seen it before. The little boy needed help so badly, and there was no help to be had. He retrieved the ball from the net and handed it to the referee - and then he cried. He just stood there while huge tears rolled down both cheeks. He went to his knees and put his fists to his eyes - and he cried the tears of the helpless and brokenhearted. When the boy went to his knees, I saw the father start onto the field. His wife clutched his arm and said, "Jim, don't. You'll embarrass him." But he tore loose from her and ran onto the field. He wasn't supposed to - the game was still in progress. Suit, tie, dress shoes, and all - he charged onto the field, and he picked up his son so everybody would know that this was his boy, and he hugged him and held him and cried with him. I've never been so proud of a man in my life. He carried him off the field, and when he got close to the sidelines I heard him say, "Scotty, I'm so proud of you. You were great out there. I want everybody to know that you are my son." "Daddy," the boy sobbed, "I couldn't stop them. I tried, Daddy, I tried and tried, and they scored on me." "Scotty, it doesn't matter how many times they scored on you. You're my son, and I'm proud of you. I want you to go back out there and finish the game. I know you want to quit, but you can't. And, son, you're going to get scored on again, but it doesn't matter. Go on, now." It made a difference - I could tell it did. When you're all alone, and you're getting scored on - and you can't stop them - it means a lot to know that it doesn't matter to those who love you. The little guy ran back on to the field - and they scored two more times - but it was okay. ~ Author Unknown ~ Doesn't this remind us of our heavenly Father? We fall so many times, we run away from Him so many times, we backslide, we sin, yet He still love us so much. I like the last paragraph:When you're all alone, and you're getting scored on - and you can't stop them - it means a lot to know that it doesn't matter to those who love you. The little guy ran back on to the field - and they scored two more times - but it was okay.God loves us so much, His love is sacrificial, His love is real, His love is true. He doesn't see us for what we have done or not done, but He loves us for who we are.Nothing you do can make God love you more and nothing you do can make God love you less. God love you so much that He sent His only Son to die for us. Think about it! Story taken from: http://www.52best.com/soccer.asp okay the above was totally taken from marcus(: haha thanks loads dear bro for sharing such touching stories and so i thought it'll be great to share with you guys too who don't know marcus! :D well the second story touched me more and it made me cry): i felt it's really touching, how much power a simple encouragement can do from just a loved one. it's powerful. <3, CASS. ! at 9:00 PM ! Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team. The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love.' Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because "Love never fails." The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love. The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws. The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His starplayer. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, "He sure doesn't look like much!" Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch......... To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ball continued over the fence . . for a home run! The Lord's team won! The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Freddy answered that he didn't know why. The Lord explained, "If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only My Grace can get you Home: 'For by Grace are you saved, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 ; Psalm 84:11, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." haha got this as email too! :D NOTE: COMMON TESTS ARE OVER! :D [i nearly died though.] <3, CASS. ! at 8:30 PM ! Stop at the picture for a second, and watch the Rain... then read on... okay you cant see the rain in this pic, but IMAGINE you can.
Suddenly, my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I'm thinking of something." This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear. "What are you thinking?" I asked. "The rain!" she began, "is like sin, and the wind shield wipers are like God wiping our sins away." After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That's really good, Aspen." Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked... "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?"
Hope the water flows when you get the picture, though I doubt you can see it flow.
READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY.
 They say if you pass this on, you will receive a miracle. I am passing this on because I thought it was really pretty, and who couldn't use a miracle?! really cute email i got(: learnt something precious from the sweet little girl(: <3, CASS. 07 August 2006 ! at 11:55 PM ! had abseiling and rockclimbing course in the morning. was quite fun but due to lack of time, my group didn't do abseiling D: the rockclimbing and abseiling course was help at SYFC's emmanuel house! :D haha. saw boon jin and christine(: i was in christine's group, together with qiwei, sherylsim, chuting, kay, edwyna and amelia(: and sherylsim was so slow! caused us to get the easier parts of the rock wall! and so my group ended up with the harder part of the wall! D: we had to climb up straight and then 90 degrees to the left leh! how to climb! but edwyna and chuting and even sherylteo could climb it! D: but well it was really hard D: i think i tried to climb it for like, 4, 5 times? haha typed the above last night. was too tired too continue and fell asleep in front of my tablet until morning 7am when my parents came into my room :/ oh wells. shall continue from where i stopped. so anyway. i tried to climb it unsuccessfully D: and on like, my third try or so, i fell from the rock wall! as in i lost my grip and just slipped off like that! so scary! and so natural reaction, i screamed! and well. miss azlin and qiwei and sherylsim were laughing at me after i recovered from the scare of the fall :/ and miss azlin told qiwei to tell me not to scream so loudly! i mean its not my fault leh! its natural reaction lah! and well they were laughing so hard leh! i guess it must be pretty loud cuz two instructors who i thought were on the other end of the wall came over and asked if i was okay D: and today in class during lit, miss azlin keot laughing cuz she said she see me then she was reminded of my scream and she thought my scream was hilarious! she said i scream very funny and she kept bursting into laughters causing qiwei to do the same too! D: well and i climbed till i had no more strength and now i've ended up with muscle aches everywhere! D: oh okay anyway. so back to sat rockclimbing. so we didn't get to do abseiling cuz there wasn't enough time and so we were gonna have debrief soon. when my group and sherylteo and renee planned a surprise birthday celebration for miss azlin! haha so cool! she was so shocked and all! haha well, after that, miss chan singled out the christians and catholics guides and i was so afraid! but turned out, that we had a different briefing. :D one that taught me new things. i never thought rockclimbing can be applied to life and to my christian faith, one which i've held on strongly to. but boon jin showed me it could. in rock climbing, you would always have to have a belayer - the person holding and controling your ropes. and you are the climber. for safety measures, there's always an anchorwoman to hold on to the belayer and assistant belayer to hold on and control your ropes. i realised that the rock wall is my life. and Jesus, is my belayer. and He is the only belayer i can have complete trust and faith in. and often when climbing the rockl wall, like going through life, i meet difficulties, i have no idea like where my left leg should step on which rock, where my right hand should go etc etc. that is like me when im faced with challenges in life, which decision i should make, which step should i take next? i dont know, because often, i'm too tired and i cant see clearly where each stone is placed. but the belayer, Jesus, who is at the bottom of the rock wall controlling my ropes, He knows. because He is below, He is in the best position to see and know which step i should take. and many times, He calls out to me which step i should take. but i'm stubborn. i trust my own view instead of His. and so i step on another rock. and what happens? i slip, i fall, and i end up hurting myself, feeling tired, hurt, resentful towards Jesus as to why He allowed me to fall when He's controlling the ropes. but it was nothing to do with the ropes, it was to do with which path i chose. becaus ei chose my way instead of His', so i fell. and that is also like us sinning and falling away from God. but the amazing thing is, even though we fall, Jesus will be there controlling the ropes and He won't allow us to fall to our deaths. yet, we're suspended in air, without any direction because we're not following His ways. we're just swinging to and fro, unable to control which direction the ropes go towards unless we get back on His path. and that's when we've gone back onto the rock wall and climb the rocks He tells us to. Because He can see the clearest, and because He knows. thank God for this precious lesson learnt! :D and after that none of the guides were having lunch with me so i decided to go to east coast to meet the teenz for lunch even though i know my mum didn't want me to go D: and unfortunately, i met my aunt there. and i was frightened. i was afraid she'll tell my mum. and so i had thoughts about lying and covering up if my aunt should tell my mum and my mum questions me about it. but thank God! thank God for jessie who gave me the right advice as to what to do! luckily i told my mum the truth and not only was she not angry, she was quite excited when she heard i met my aunt! :D thank God that i honoured Him and He helped me! think i was quite stupid. shouldn't even have thoughts of lying lor. thank God i didn't in the end! after that went for FOP! after i went home and changed and then i met shuyi at kallang. i was very very very very very late! sorry shuyi! D: and then took the chartered service to indoor and met adel and lois there :D it was quite nice, though i still prefered last year's FOP. maybe cuz the atmosphere was higher and all? but wells, this year wasn't that bad! cuz i still felt God's presence and the Holy Spirit moving through us! :D i feel God's presence everywhere and everyday! :D after that i took 67 bus home with shuyi, and we shared some pretty personal stuff with each other. i think me and shuyi are getting closer and closer, especially after she got things right with God and started living a life for Him all over again! i just thank God for such a wonderful sister-in-Christ! indeed, the bond made of the blood of Christ is stronger than any other bond there is in the world! :D THANK GOD FOR ERIC'S PARENTS, THEY ARE NOW SAVED! :D hmm got the carpenters' concert at the Grace Assembly of God Church tomorrow after school! will most likely be going! invited loads of christian friends from crescent, including some of whom have fallen away from God. i really hope to be able to show them God's love for them and i know that God will guide and lead them back to Him, and i can only pray that they are willing sheeps willing to be guided back by their shepherd, Jesus. Lord, i pray that tomorrow You'll fill the empty hearts, warm the cold hearts and soften those who have harden their hearts against You. i pray that You'll give them the passion, the thirst, the hunger for You again, that they'll pursue after You and Your Word like hungry lions who have not eaten the entire day, like camels who have spent days in the desert. Father i pray that they'll be willing to be guided back by You, to be lead by You once again. i pray that You'll be their belayer in life too, and that they'll climb the rock wall with Your help. Father help me to always listen to You, and not hasten to secure my feet on the wrong stone, but to wait patiently and listen for instructions from You, which stone to step, which stone to hold on to. Lord help me to not fall away from the rock wall, but to climb it with Your grace and strength sustaining me. Thank You Lord for Eric's saved parents and for melissa and kaiqi, both of whom have agreed to come for the concert tomorrow. i pray that Lord, You'll make Your presence know to them, lead them gently back to You again, cuz i lonw Father, that You'll bring them back to You eventually. in Jesus' name i pray, AMEN! <3, CASS. ! at 11:20 PM ! The university professor challenged his students with this question. ''Did God create everything that exists?'' A student bravely replied, ''Yes, he did!" "God created everything?" The professor asked. "Yes, sir," the student replied. The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil." The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth. Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?" "Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?" "What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody and every object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have too little heat. The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?" The professor responded, "Of course it does". The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present." Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil." To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down. The young man's name --- Albert Einstein what a true story! i've never thought of evil that way before and i've always where did evil come from but now i know my answer! it's the result of a person without God's love thus committing sin and causing evil! :D so true! <3, CASS. 01 August 2006 ! at 11:45 PM ! Shortly after the turn of the century, Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. Of all of their oppressors, Japan was the most ruthless. They overwhelmed the Koreans with a brutality that would sicken the strongest of stomachs. Their crimes against women and children were inhuman. Many Koreans live today with the physical and emotional scars from the Japanese occupation. One group singled out for concentrated oppression was the Christians. When the Japanese army overpowered Korea one of the first things they did was board up the evangelical churches and eject most foreign missionaries. It has always fascinated me how people fail to learn from history. Conquering nations have consistently felt that shutting up churches would shut down Christianity. It didn't work in Rome when the church was established, and it hasn't worked since. Yet somehow the Japanese thought they would have a different success record. The conquerors started by refusing to allow churches to meet and jailing many of the key Christian spokesmen. The oppression intensified as the Japanese military increased its profile in the South Pacific. The "Land of the Rising Sun" spread its influence through a reign of savage brutality. Anguish filled the hearts of the oppressed -- and kindled hatred deep in their souls. One pastor persistently entreated his local Japanese police chief for permission to meet for services. His nagging was finally accommodated, and the police chief offered to unlock his church..for one meeting. It didn't take long for word to travel. Committed Christians starving for an opportunity for unhindered worship quickly made their plans. Long before dawn on that promised Sunday, Korean families throughout a wide area made their way to the church. They passed the staring eyes of their Japanese captors, but nothing was going to steal their joy. As they closed the doors behind them they shut out the cares of oppression and shut in a burning spirit anxious to glorify their Lord. The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church. Their voices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden frame sanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows into the bright Sunday morning. For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songs this congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of "Nearer My God to Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gave the orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them when they barricaded the doors, but no one realized that they had doused the church with kerosene until they smelled the smoke. The dried wooden skin of the small church quickly ignited. Fumes filled the structure as tongues of flame began to lick the baseboard on the interior walls. There was an immediate rush for the windows. But momentary hope recoiled in horror as the men climbing out the windows came crashing back in -- their bodies ripped by a hail of bullets. The good pastor knew it was the end. With a calm that comes from confidence, he led his congregation in a hymn whose words served as a fitting farewell to earth and a loving salutation to heaven. The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshipers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined as one to sing their hope and leave their legacy. Their song became a serenade to the horrified and helpless witnesses outside. Their words also tugged at the hearts of the cruel men who oversaw this flaming execution of the innocent. Alas! and did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? Just before the roof collapsed they sang the last verse, their words an eternal testimony to their faith. But drops of grief can ne'er repay The debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away 'Tis all that I can do! At the cross, at the cross Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away.. It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day.. The strains of music and wails of children were lost in a roar of flames. The elements that once formed bone and flesh mixed with the smoke and dissipated into the air. The bodies that once housed life fused with the charred rubble of a building that once housed a church. But the souls who left singing finished their chorus in the throne room of God. Clearing the incinerated remains was the easy part. Erasing the hate would take decades. For some of the relatives of the victims, this carnage was too much. Evil had stooped to a new low, and there seemed to be no way to curb their bitter loathing of the Japanese. In the decades that followed, that bitterness was passed on to a new generation. The Japanese, although conquered, remained a hated enemy. The monument the Koreans built at the location of the fire not only memorialized the people who died, but stood as a mute reminder of their pain. Inner rest? How could rest coexist with a bitterness deep as marrow in the bones? Suffering, of course, is a part of life. People hurt people. Almost all of us have experienced it at some time. Maybe you felt it when you came home to find that your spouse had abandoned you, or when your integrity was destroyed by a series of well-timed lies, or when your company was bled dry by a partner. It kills you inside. Bitterness clamps down on your soul like iron shackles. The Korean people who found it too hard to forgive could not enjoy the "peace that passes all understanding." Hatred choked their joy. It wasn't until 1972 that any hope came. A group of Japanese pastors traveling through Korea came upon the memorial. When they read the details of the tragedy and the names of the spiritual brothers and sisters who had perished, they were overcome with shame. Their country had sinned, and even though none of them were personally involved (some were not even born at the time of the tragedy), they still felt a national guilt that could not be excused. They returned to Japan committed to right a wrong. There was an immediate outpouring of love from their fellow believers. They raised ten million yen ($25,000). The money was transferred through proper channels and a beautiful white church building was erected on the sight of the tragedy. When the dedication service for the new building was held, a delegation from Japan joined the relatives and special guests. Although their generosity was acknowledged and their attempts at making peace appreciated, the memories were still there. Hatred preserves pain. It keeps the wounds open and the hurts fresh. The Koreans' bitterness had festered for decades. Christian brothers or not, these Japanese were descendants of a ruthless enemy. The speeches were made, the details of the tragedy recalled, and the names of the dead honored. It was time to bring the service to a close. Someone in charge of the agenda thought it would be appropriate to conclude with the same two songs that were sung the day the church was burned. The song leader began the words to "Nearer My God to Thee." But something remarkable happened as the voices mingled on the familiar melody. As the memories of the past mixed with the truth of the song, resistance started to melt. The inspiration that gave hope to a doomed collection of churchgoers in a past generation gave hope once more. The song leader closed the service with the hymn "At the Cross." The normally stoic Japanese could not contain themselves. The tears that began to fill their eyes during the song suddenly gushed from deep inside. They turned to their Korean spiritual relatives and begged them to forgive. The guarded, calloused hearts of the Koreans were not quick to surrender. But the love of the Japanese believers -- unintimidated by decades of hatred -- tore at the Koreans' emotions. At the cross, at the cross Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away.. One Korean turned toward a Japanese brother. Then another. And then the floodgates holding back a wave of emotion let go. The Koreans met their new Japanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other and wept. Japanese tears of repentance and Korean tears of forgiveness intermingled to bathe the site of an old nightmare. Heaven had sent the gift of reconciliation to a little white church in Korea. ~ by Tim Kimmel, Little House on the Freeway For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more..~ Hebrews 8:12 A story on forgiveness which moved my heart very deeply..may it touch your heart too.. The hospital was unusually quiet that bleak January evening, quiet and still like the air before a storm. I stood in the nurses' station on the 7th floor and glanced at the clock. It was 9 p.m. I threw a stethoscope around my neck and headed for room 712, last room on the hall. Room 712 had a new patient. Mr. Williams. A man all alone. A man strangely silent about his family. As I entered the room, Mr. Williams looked up eagerly, but dropped his eyes when he saw it was only me, his nurse. I pressed the stethoscope over his chest and listened. Strong, slow, even beating. Just what I wanted to hear. There seemed little indication he had suffered a slight heart attack a few hours earlier. He looked up from his starched white bed. "Nurse, would you--" He hesitated, tears filling his eyes. Once before he had started to ask me a question, but had changed his mind. I touched his hand, waiting. He brushed away a tear. "Would you call my daughter? Tell her I've had a heart attack. A slight one. You see, I live alone and she is the only family I have." His respiration suddenly speeded up. I turned his nasal oxygen up to eight liters a minute. "Of course I'll call her." I said, studying his face. He gripped the sheets and pulled himself forward, his face tense with urgency. "Will you call her right away--as soon as you can?" He was breathing fast--too fast. "I'll call her the very first thing," I said, patting his shoulder. I flipped off the light. He closed his eyes, such young blue eyes in his 50-year-old face. Room 712 was dark except for a faint night light under the sink. Oxygen gurgled in the green tubes above his bed. Reluctant to leave, I moved through the shadowy silence to the window. The panes were cold. Below a foggy mist curled through the hospital parking lot. "Nurse," he called, "could you get me a pencil and paper?" I dug a scrap of yellow paper and a pen from my pocket and set it on the bedside table. I walked back to the nurses' station and sat in a squeaky swivel chair by the phone. Mr. Williams' daughter was listed on his chart as the next of kin. I got her number from information and dialed. Her soft voice answered. "Janie, this is Sue Kidd, a registered nurse at the hospital. I'm calling about your father. He was admitted tonight with a slight heart attack and--" "No!" she screamed into the phone, startling me. "He's not dying is he?" "His condition is stable at the moment," I said, trying hard to sound convincing. Silence. I bit my lip. "You must not let him die!" she said. Her voice was so utterly compelling that my hand trembled on the phone. "He is getting the very best care." "But you don't understand," she pleaded. "My daddy and I haven't spoken in almost a year. We had a terrible argument on my 21st birthday, over my boyfriend. I ran out of the house. I..I haven't been back. All these months I've wanted to go to him for forgiveness. The last thing I said to him was, 'I hate you." Her voice cracked and I heard her heave great agonizing sobs. I sat, listening, tears burning my eyes. A father and a daughter, so lost to each other. Then I was thinking of my father, many miles away. It has been so long since I had said, "I love you." As Janie struggled to control her tears, I breathed a prayer. "Please, God, let this daughter find forgiveness." "I'm coming now! I'll be there in 30 minutes," she said. Click. She had hung up. I tried to busy myself with a stack of charts on the desk. I couldn't concentrate. Room 712. I knew I had to get back to 712. I hurried down the hall nearly in a run. I opened the door. Mr. Williams lay unmoving. I reached for his pulse. There was none. "Code 99. Room 712. Code 99. Stat." The alert was shooting through the hospital within seconds after I called the switchboard through the intercom by the bed. Mr. Williams had had a cardiac arrest. With lightning speed I leveled the bed and bent over his mouth, breathing air into his lungs. I positioned my hands over his chest and compressed. One, two, three. I tried to count. At 15, I moved back to his mouth and breathed as deeply as I could. Where was help? Again I compressed and breathed. Compressed and breathed. He could not die! "O God," I prayed. "His daughter is coming. Don't let it end this way." The door burst open. Doctors and nurses poured into the room pushing emergency equipment. A doctor took over the manual compression of the heart. A tube was inserted through his mouth as an airway. Nurses plunged syringes of medicine into the intravenous tubing. I connected the heart monitor. Nothing. Not a beat. My own heart pounded. "God, don't let it end like this. Not in bitterness and hatred. His daughter is coming. Let her find peace." "Stand back," cried a doctor. I handed him the paddles for the electrical shock to the heart. He placed them on Mr.William's chest. Over and over we tried. But nothing. No response. Mr. Williams was dead. A nurse unplugged the oxygen. The gurgling stopped. One by one they left, grim and silent. How could this happen? How? I stood by his bed, stunned. A cold wind rattled the window, pelting the panes with snow. Outside--everywhere--seemed a bed of blackness, cold and dark. How could I face his daughter? When I left the room, I saw her against the wall by a water fountain. A doctor who had been inside 712 only moments before, stood at her side, talking to her, gripping her elbow. Then he moved on, leaving her slumped against the wall. Such pathetic hurt reflected from her face. Such wounded eyes. She knew. The doctor had told her that her father was gone. took her hand and led her into the nurses' lounge. We sat on little green stools, neither saying a word. She stared straight ahead at a pharmaceutical calendar, glass-faced, almost breakable-looking. "Janie, I'm so sorry," I said. It was pitifully inadequate. "I never hated him, you know. I loved him," she said. God, please help her, I thought. Suddenly she whirled toward me. "I want to see him." My first thought was, Why put yourself through more pain? Seeing him will only make it worse. But I got up and wrapped my arm around her. We walked slowly down the corridor to 712. Outside the door I squeezed her hand, wishing she would change her mind about going inside. She pushed open the door. We moved to the bed, huddled together, taking small steps in unison. Janie leaned over the bed and buried her face in the sheets. I tried not to look at her, at this sad, sad good-bye. I backed against the bedside table. My hand fell upon a scrap of yellow paper. I picked it up. It read: My dearest Janie, I forgive you. I pray you will also forgive me. I know that you love me. I love you too. Love, Daddy The note was shaking in my hands as I thrust it toward Janie. She read it once. Then twice. Her tormented face grew radiant. Peace began to glisten in her eyes. She hugged the scrap of paper to her breast. "Thank You, God," I whispered, looking up at the window. A few crystal stars blinked through the blackness. A snowflake hit the window and melted away, gone forever. Life seemed as fragile as a snowflake on the window. But thank You, God, that relationships, sometimes fragile as snowflakes, can be mended together again--but there is not a moment to spare. I crept from the room and hurried to the phone. I would call my father..and I would say, "I love you." ~ Guideposts Magazine, 1979 hey copied both stories from daphne's blog, touched me so deeply it left me crying through and after the story, thought i'll share it here too since not everyone visits daphne's blog(: forgiveness. it's something everyones seeks after for when they've done something wrong, whether it be a sin or hurting someone. and yet. not everyone is willing to give it although every one of us have an abundance and overflowing amount of forgiveness. but i've learnt, when you forgive someone, not only is the burden in their hearts gone, but so is the one in your own. and the a lighter heart, the better. the lightest of hearts would be the heart where forgiveness just keeps flowing, non-stop like a gushing stream full of water and life. and i want a heart like that, so light, you can't even weigh it. <3, CASS. |
