Deliver Christ to the World

A Christmas message :)

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

Deliver Christ to the World

via Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by everyday@maxlucado.com (Web Manager) on 12/6/07

Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by Max Lucado

"I work...using Christ's great strength that works so powerfully in me."
Colossians 1:29

The virgin birth is more, much more, than a Christmas story; it is a picture of how close Christ will come to you. The first stop on his itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep within Mary for an answer.

Better still, look deep within yourself. What he did with Mary, he offers to us! He issues a Mary-level invitation to all his children. "If you'll let me, I'll move in!"...

What is the mystery of the gospel? "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27 NIV)...

Christ grew in Mary until he had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions. Every place you live will be a Christmas. You, like Mary, will deliver Christ into the world.

from

Next Door Savior

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Christmas Every Day

I was struck by this devotional. That He is my best gift, an eternal gift, and an unending gift is something I often don't remember to be thankful for.

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

Christmas Every Day

via Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by everyday@maxlucado.com (Web Manager) on 11/30/07

Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by Max Lucado

"Sing praises to the LORD...Tell the nations what he has done."
Psalm 9:11

You have Christmas every day. Your gift bears, not toys and books, but God himself! His work: on the cross and in the resurrection. As a result, your sin brings no guilt, and the grave brings no fear.

His energy: it's not up to you. You can do all things through Christ, who gives you strength.

His lordship: he is in charge of you and looks out for you.

His love: what can separate you from it?

Who could imagine such gifts? Who could imagine not opening them?

from

Come Thirsty

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

United vs. Arsenal article

Just to upload pic:

Moral you get from an ass

This joke was sent by MerV's uncle who is a catholic. I'm surprised with his sense of humour.

A pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.The pastor was so pleased with the donkey thathe entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local newspaper read:
PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicitythat he ordered the pastor not to enter thedonkey in another race.

The next day, the local newspaper headline read:
BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.

This was too much for the Bishop, so he orderedthe pastor to get rid of the donkey.The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearbyconvent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted thefollowing headline the next day:
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The Bishop fainted. He informed the nun that shewould have to get rid of the donkey, so she soldit to a farmer for $10.

The next day the paper read:
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.

This was too much for the Bishop, so he orderedthe nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to theplains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:
NUN ANNOUNCES...HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.

The Bishop was buried the next day....

The moral of the story is.... Being concerned aboutpublic opinion can bring you much grief and misery... and even shorten your life.
So BE yourself and enjoy life..... You'll be a lothappier and live longer!

Mat Jokes

My friend passed me this link and I knew you guys would appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I'm not racist...its just that the jokes are very funny.

If Singaporeans eat maggi mee and Indonesians eat indomee, then what do Malaysians eat?Sodomee

Where is a Malay's favourite shopping spot?
Matro

What is a Malay's favourite tv show?
Ali Matbeal

What do you call a small, cheap Malay?
Econ mini mat

What do you call a Mat bungee jumping?
Mat-Yo Yo

How do you confuse a Mat?
Put him in a circular room and ask him to relac one corner.

A Mat, who was in Primary 3, came home from school one day and asked his father, "Bapak, today in school, me and friends had competisen, see who's cock the biggest, lah. My cock bigger than all, lah. Why ah? Because I melayu, issit? The father sighed and looked at him and said, "No,lah. Because you're eighteen years old."

Three men, Ah Beng, a Chinese, Ah Neh, an Indian, and Ah Mat, a Malay, were all sentenced to terms of life imprisonment for armed robbery. Upon reaching the prison, the chief warden told them, "Since you are going to be here for a very long time, you can bring into the cell whatever you wish. Just tell me and I'll try to fulfil it."So Ah Beng asked for a lifetime supply of cigarettes so he could drown his sorrows in smoke.Ah Neh asked for a set of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica as he wanted to study his remaining life away, having never passed his PSLE.Ah Mat, however, asked for a lifetime supply of tampons. The warden was puzzled and asked, "What do you need tampons for?"Ah Mat replied: "You never hear, is it? With tampons, you can go running, cycling, swimming......"

Clarah eating ... eating ... sleeping

Here's one way to be at rest while feasting in God's kingdom *hahahahahahahahaha*

How can Singaporeans be happy?

I thought this was quite interesting.

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

How can Singaporeans be happy?

via Tan Kin Lian's Blog by Tan Kin Lian on Jun 22, 2007

COMMENT POSTED IN MY BLOG:

In my 9 years here, I've rarely met anyone who's happy about their job. Everyone has grouses ... and why?

Mostly due to Money. Let's all admit it, isn't this society driven by monetary excellence? What else? High expectations has been drilled since we are young. High expectations of your maid, the guy at the front bank desk, your colleagues.

Everything is speed, accuracy, and excellence. Would anyone dare fail? What's this all boils down to? Higher stress ---> Grouses??

Is this only happening in Singapore? I don't think so. Maybe it's more evident here? Possibly?

So therefore, your statement may have to evolve to 'how can Singaporeans be happy?'

Mr. Tan sir, please share some thoughts.

----------------------------------------------

REPLY:

I like to invite other readers to share their thoughts.

Here are some of my suggestions:

* live within our income
* save 15% for our future needs
* do not spend unnecessary (to keep up with other people)
* avoid borrowing on credit card
* do not envy other people; live our own life
* look for the things that are inexpensive or free in Singapore; they are plenty
* do not waste our time doing the unnecessary work
* talk to friends and colleagues
* have an inexpensive hobby
* spend time to be nice to other people
* think of others; not just ourself

I hope to get more views from other people.

Things you can do from here:

• Visit the original item on Tan Kin Lian's Blog
• Subscribe to Tan Kin Lian's Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Phew.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd fare too well this semester. (In case you guys didn't know, I'm doing a marketing degree program part-time at UniSIM). My first semester was seriously overloaded. I got my results today and guess what, a B average. LOL! A- for statistics to top it off. Firstly, I thought I'll get some C's. And statistics isn't exactly my strongest subject. Quite bemused and blessed I'd say.

Next semester here I come!

Here's the modules I'll be doing (subject to confirmation in the next couple of days).

• FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS,INSTRUMENTS & MARKETS
• FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
• CONTRACT & AGENCY LAW
• COMPANY LAW & CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
• ACTION LEARNING

Thank you Jesus! :D

IMPOSSIBLE!

A Revelation from the Lord Jesus:

Sometimes when things are not going our way or when we are asked to perform certain functions that are way beyond our capabilities, we tend to confess " Its simply IMPOSSIBLE!"

Jesus told me "You are Right! Its simply God Possible!"

IMPOSSIBLE = I AM POSSIBLE

Abba Daddy, the Great I AM, says all Things Are Possible to us that believes in HIM!"

Praise the Lord!

Clarah: Kissing practice

*heh heh heh heh heh*

Check your Ego at the door please.

It's really just to easy to blindside yourself to facts and figures, especially when ego comes to play. This article I'm recommending all to read here will tell you how to avoid the pitfalls of letting success get to your head. (And that is why the Bible speaks on humility)

Go here to download.

Courtesy of ChangeThis.com

Testimony

My boss has decided to renew my contract for a further 6 months instead of the usual 3. This means I will be employed until December!

(^_^)v

The Future of Computing 2

Well, remember a few posts ago, I linked a video that showed a whole new way of interfacing with a computer?

Microsoft has taken it to another level altogether and they're unveiling the technology.

Read here: Reuters.com - Microsoft to unveil coffee-table-shaped computer.

Watch and Pray - May 28

I hope this will bless your day.

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

Watch and Pray - May 28

via Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by everyday@maxlucado.com on May 28, 2007

Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by Max Lucado

May 28

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Mark 14:38 NIV

"Watch." They don't come any more practical than that. Watch. Stay alert. Keep your eyes open. When you see sin coming, duck. When you anticipate an awkward encounter, turn around. When you sense temptation, go the other way.

All Jesus is saying is, "Pay attention." You know your weaknesses. You also know the situations in which your weaknesses are most vulnerable. Stay out of those situations. Back seats. Late hours. Movie theaters. Whatever it is that gives Satan a foothold in your life, stay away from it. Watch out!

"Pray." Prayer isn't telling God anything new. There is not a sinner nor a saint who would surprise him. What prayer does is invite God to walk the shadowy pathways of life with us. Prayer is asking God to watch ahead for falling trees and tumbling boulders and to bring up the rear, guarding our backside from the poison darts of the devil.

from

No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

http://www.maxlucado.net/shopping6.00/shopquery.asp?catalogid=23402

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

Things you can do from here:

• Visit the original item on Grace for the Moment: Volume 2
• Subscribe to Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Slam Poetry

Anyone interested in going for a Slam Poetry event tomorrow evening at Velvet Underground?

Basically Slam poetry is a postmodern performance poetry, a form of spoken word performed at a competitive poetry event, called a "slam", at which poets perform their own poems (or, in rare cases, those of others) that are "judged" on a numeric scale by randomly picked members of the audience.

They have it on at Velvet every last Tuesday of the month. Cool stuff really...

Here's a really cool example of Slam poetry in action (which purportedly got this Apple employee fired)

Alternate "Jesus is the reason I smile" video *heh heh*

Ministry of Health
(sorry)
Ministry of Helps
(*ahem* forgot change name change image liao)

Royal Stews Ministry's alternate video presentation for their recruitment campaign drive today:
Jesus is the reason I smil☺!

☺
SMILE!

Perfect Love - May 27

Our Senior Pastor also recently talked about Singapore youths who search for love in all the wrong places because they don't feel loved and accepted at home by their parents.

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

Perfect Love - May 27

via Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by everyday@maxlucado.com on May 27, 2007

Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 by Max Lucado

May 27

"Perfect love casts out fear."
I John 4:18 NKJV

Have you ever gone to the grocery store on an empty stomach? You're a sitting duck. You buy everything you don't need. Doesn't matter if it's good for you--you just want to fill your tummy. When you're lonely, you do the same in life, pulling stuff off the shelf, not because you need it, but because you are hungry for love.

Why do we do it? Because we fear facing life alone. For fear of not fitting in, we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear the clothes. For fear of appealing small, we go into debt and buy the house. For fear of going unnoticed, we dress to seduce or to impress. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But all that changes when we discover God's perfect love. And "perfect love casts out fear."

from

Traveling Light

http://www.maxlucado.net/shopping6.00/shopquery.asp?catalogid=24894

-=- by Max Lucado -=-

Things you can do from here:

• Visit the original item on Grace for the Moment: Volume 2
• Subscribe to Grace for the Moment: Volume 2 using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

3 Types of Christians

My beloved family, just want to share with you what the Lord spoke to me about the types of Christians that lived on planet earth (which we know is coming to an end with all the weird weather happening around the world).

Type 1: Christians that call those things that do exist as though they did.

Type 2: Christians that call those things that do exist as though they did not.

Type 3: Christians that call those things that do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:17)

Let me give you an example to better illustrate what i meant.

Eg: Mr P who is unemployed and is trusting the Lord Jesus for a job.

Type 1 response when someone asked Mr P about his job. "Well, i have been praying to the Lord Jesus and trusting that He is opening up doors for me. But, I am still unemployed and there is no one calling me up for an interview!" Beloved, is there any different between Mr P and an unbeliever? No! Mr P is stating what He sees in the natural. Can you find the faith in the Lord Jesus being applied here?

Type 2 response when someone asked Mr P about his job. "Well, i have been praying to the Lord Jesus and trusting that He is opening up doors for me. I am not unemployed! Who said i am unemployed? I am not unemployed, I am just waiting to be employed." Mr P is speaking denial about his situation. Christianity is not about self-denial, its about speaking the truth in the Word of God.

Type 3 response (The God's Way of Response) "Brother, i believe that i have received my job in the name of Jesus. Even though i am unemployed now, but i know that Jesus has already found a job because i believe that the prayer of the righteous avails (profits) much. My prayers gets answered all the time by Jesus. I am just waiting for the manifestation of the prayer."

Let's dig deeper into Type 3. In Romans 4:17, the Apostle Paul talks about God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Reading the verse in its context, we can see that Paul is talking about Abraham whom God did a name change from Abram to Abraham "Father of many nations" (kindly look to the reference of Genesis 17:5 in Romans 4:17) Abraham being 99 years old was incapable in the natural to help in the "creation process" with Sarah. But God, in whom all things are possible, promised Abraham that He will be a Father of Many nations and helped Abraham along by changing his name from Abram to Abraham. Therefore whenever Sarah calls Abraham "Father of Many Nations" it reminds him of God's Word which is the truth and not what he sees in the natural. As the revelation of God's Word sunk deep into Spirit man, a few years later, Issac was born.

How does it apply to us, believers? Start researching diligently in the Word of God for all the Promises In Christ Jesus and start believing and confessing the Truth (God's Word) in every area of need in your life. Stop denying what is in the natural, Stop speaking what you can see in the natural, It WON'T CHANGE a thing in your life. Do you know why God calls those things which do not exist as though they did? Remember, it is the SPIRITUAL REALM (things that do not exist in this world) that changed the natural realm. Before God said "Light Be and Light Was" in Genesis 1:3, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Its the Spoken Word of God together with the Spirit of God that brings forth things in the natural.

I hope this posting will stir up your Spirit Man and bless you richly.

The Future of Computing

I know this might be a little old. But can you imagine the way we use computers in the future?

Notable Site

Randomly surfing around again, I chanced upon this blog site of a local Christian family. The father of the lot is is an avid amateur photographer I presume. He has taken some pretty good shots of his family and other stuff. He's a physician (quoted him saying on the site somewhere) and writes pretty well. Go about and read some of his articles. This is one truly wholesome family whose lives have been centred around the Lord, Jesus. :)

Visit ourfamily.com.sg

Notably, this particular article caught my eye.

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who has self control is better than he who takes a city. - Prov 16:32

Who? Not Hoe!

For the 'gaarden lovers. Here are some fun facts about our favorite easy drinking brew.

Pronunciation
The name Hoegaarden is commonly mispronounced. The correct pronunciation is 'Who-Gar-Den'.

Tradition
Hoegaarden tradition states that the first Hoegaarden of the day must be finished in three gulps. The amount taken-in during the first and second gulp is of no concern as long as the third gulp completes the pint.

Read more here and here!

Foodie site

Hi All!

Here's a site I chanced upon, pretty interesting stuff if you got time to go through it!

HungryGoWhere.com

Maybe, now we could really vary our choices for supper haunts. (Sorry for the 'S' types though. :P )

International Museum Day 2007

Got to know of this from Tomorrow.sg. Posting it here in case you've always wanted to visit our local museums, but somehow never found the time....

Sent to you by May via Google Reader:

International Museum Day 2007

via sparklette.net by Veron on May 18, 2007

the international museum day starts today! for 10 days ('til may 27), there will be more than 80 activities and events spread over 24 museums in singapore!

Event: International Museum Day 2007
Date: May 18-27, 2007 (10 days)
Venue: 24 museums in Singapore

More information

personally, i love museums and art galleries. i visited 4 of them (civil defence heritage gallery, singapore philatelic museum, singapore art museum, museum of shanghai toys) during the international museum day last year. boy, that was one eye-opening experience!

i mean, you would think that singapore, being such a small country and a relatively young nation, there wouldn't be anything particularly interesting or new that you haven't known of. but after visiting the four museums last year, i learned so much! read more about my enriching experience!

currently, i am also a friend of yesterday.sg, a local website set up by enthusiasts who blog about singapore heritage and culture. i have contributed a few posts over there, and i think that the website would be a good read for people that are interested in local museums!

since i started working, i haven't had time to visit as many museums or galleries as i'd like. other than gushing at the adorable kitty paintings in catmasutra, watching the remarkable kurt wenner draw live at the national museum, and more recently, exploring the little known HDB gallery at my current workplace, i simply stopped visiting museums altogether!

the international museum day would be a good time to start visiting again. read walter's post for more on what you can see, hear, taste, feel or do during the next 10 days! i'm going to make it a point to check out a few museums and galleries. if anyone's keen to join me, drop me a note! i promise to be nice.

external links

Official website: IMD 2007
Cooler Insights: Museums Are Alive!

also in this series

May 23, 2006: International Museum Day 2006

Things you can do from here:

• Visit the original item on sparklette.net
• Subscribe to sparklette.net using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Small Jap Eats

For fans of Japanese food, here's a good place for good food at reasonable prices.

Tucked away on the 5th floor of Far East Plaza, is a cosy little Japanese eatery going by the name of Wasabi Tei.


Don't expect fancy decor or service; this is as minimal as it can get. The whole place is done up like a cafe and could only hold up to 16 people at max.



Both May and I order the Beef Rice, which was nothing more than Stir-fried slices of beef over a serving of typical Japanese short grain rice, served with a bowl of Miso soup. The taste of the beef was bursting with teriyaki flavor and the rice was well cooked. There was this small dish of some veg or pickle that I couldn't figure out. Maybe May could enlighten us on that one. Nonetheless, the menu also includes stuff like sushi and sashimi, basically nothing you won't typically find in a Japanese eatery.



Value for money and definitely worth a try.

Chelsea won the FA Cup :(

We lost ... :(

Oh well, kudos to Chelsea, it was a well-taken goal from a one-two by Drogba and Lampard. What's painful is the timing of the goal, we just didn't have the time to fight back like that. I suppose kara doesn't always happen to our team/the best team.



We love United we do
We love United still do
We love you Man U we do
Ohh United we love you



Look out for off-season transfer news! (I mean, what else can a football fan do with 3 months of NO footie??!?!?)

MerV

Btw Kev, it was a REALLY lovely gathering, even Fern was saying she began to see why it was nice watching football together with your loved ones. Thanks bro!

Contest!!

Don't you think "Friendship in God's kingdom" just doesn't reflect the verve of our lovely and blessed group?

Change it! The best submission (500 Characters Max.) goes on the blog and you will win a Mystery Prize!

Template change II

Hi friends,

You'd notice that I have changed our template yet again. As the content of our team blog grows, I realise that the pretty "Harbor" template wouldn't do. It was distracting and the lighthouse graphics were quite unneccessary, considering that we often post pics and videos up. Let's not take the attention away from our posts.

This template that I chose maximizes the space for posts, it uses nearly the whole width of the window (within reason). I feel it's well-suited to our needs at the moment. If our blog content should continue to grow beyond the confines of the default Blogger templates, we will have to seek another solution then.

I am sorry, it appears that through the template change some videos in your previous posts have been lost. Please accept my apologies. Apart from that, everything else should be working normally, including your favourite Tagboard!

(Final) Road to Wembley: FA Cup final 2007

How can we ever forget the MOST DRAMATIC (and best ever) FA Cup semi-finals in living memory?



Wanna see the winning goal again? Voted the Goal of the Century by the English FA.




Venue: Kev's house
Time: 8:30pm (kickoff: 9:55pm)
I'll be bringing snacks andd drinks (as requested), but do bring along your own snacks if you want!

See ya!

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!
AND THE REDS GO MARCHING ON ON ON!!!
MerV

Groupthink

Now for a slightly more serious topic. There was this course that I was taking in school on Critical Thinking. In the topic, we talked about Group Think and the fallacies (and possible dangers) that revolve around this issue.

For some interesting reading on what it's really about, you can refer to this link.

Now, why would I make mention about this? Group think is not restricted only to corporate work groups but in social groups as well. And it strikes groups in varying degrees and especially groups that are highly cohesive (like ours!).

But fortunately for ourselves, we've got Spirit guidance and if need be, we should be constructively critical with each other where possible. Airing our views(not jokes) freely without fear of truly offending the other party. Only then we can draw from each other and from Jesus that is within each of us and corporately as a group.

Road to Wembley: FA Cup final 2007

FA Cup final 1996: 85th minute scorcher from Oooh-Aaaah Cantona that won us the FA Cup. (Check out his football intelligence, he stepped back to whack that volley!)




FA Cup final 1999: One third of our treble victory



Even Alan Shearer applauded us, what a true gentleman!


Pity I can't find any video clip for our 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup 1994 final. I remembered that was a classic for all Man U fans.

MerV
U da Man!

The Conservation of Calories Theory

After reading last week's Sunday Times, I followed up on an article regarding this doc who's also a foodie and have been reading his blog (www.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com). Reading his blog makes me feel extremely hungry and makes me wanna try all the stalls he posted. Maybe we can try them during our weekly thursday supper. Anyway, i digress. The paragraphs below states his Calories Theory which makes alot of sense to me. Just thought it'll be interesting to share.

This theory states that the amount of calories per person's lifetime is constant and limited.

Just imagine that God had created us with a limited number of calories we can consume in our lifetime. The average number of calories for a child of 6 is 1800/day, for an adult is 2500/day and for the elderly is 1800/day. So a rough calculation tells us that in an average lifetime, a human being would consume 63.5 million calories. Now if you want to spend all your calories early in life, you might just run out of calories and die young. On the other hand you can conserve your calories and live longer.

For me, an average lifespan is good enough. So what I do is, I try not to eat unneccessary calories. What I mean by unncessary calories is food that just fills you up but tastes yuckky. Remember that since you have limited calories to spend, you might as well spend it on food that tastes good.

DON'T WASTE YOUR CALORIES on a plate of unremarkable Char Kway Teow. No, you should save up your calories for that juicy US Prime Rib steak at the end of the week.

If you can think about your calories like how you plan your finances, then you would be in a better state of health. Just as in finances, the advise is not to spend what you do not have, save all you can and invest for the future. Do likewise for your health.

If during the week, you have replaced 3 lousy meals for healthy salads and fruits, then you have actually saved some calories to spend on your steak. By saving calories this way, you will be investing in a better and longer future.

By the way, he's a Christian too (or Catholic, I haven't read that far to determine) but some of his posts on faith are thought provoking too.

301

300.

hullo everyone, i took this off sean's blog, it's so funny yuzhen and i were laughing like mad lor. haha hope u enjoy =)










and last but not least...


THIS IS SPASTICCCCCCCCCC!!

Road to FA Cup final 2007

Here's to whet our appetites for this Sunday's potential classic - with one of the most memorable football drama in living memory:



Relive the emotion from behind the Bayern goal:



(Youtube link: Full coverage of that awesome night)

No other fitting way to showcase the new Wembley stadium (most expensive stadium in the world today!) than to have the most illustrious champions in the world today (playing the most expensively a$$embled team today, of course :P)

MerV
U da Man

Exam over!

Good heavens..... Exams over! Now what? Hmm... I'm thinking we need to get the template of this site sorted. In other words, possibly find another one and adapt it to our needs. Just not enough at this point in time.

Blogger has some issues with SingNet users, (namely, May and myself), we investigated and found out that we needed to include the proxy server in the connection settings in order for some of the Blogger features to work! How lame.

Anyway, let's see where we can go from here. :P

P.S. Merv! I think blogger deleted your pic of Fern and Clarah somehow, you might wanna upload it again.

Upcoming events!

Say say say! As stated at the side, us Kingdom Friends/mates/lovers/football fans (OK, that's just for the few of us) are certainly looking forward to all the akan datangs coming our way!


A summary of all our get-togethers to look forward to (apart from our usual late-night piggings, of course :P)

1. FA Cup final

vs.

It's here, the season climax! We're rooting for the Reds to bring home the Cup for the record 9th time 12TH TIME! and to prove that Ru$$ian roubles don't win you championships and trophies! *hahahahaha*

Will post a vid a week, for inspiration for Saturday. Keep a heads up!

2. Kulai trip: MAKAN feast!

The (other) major feasting in May! (Besides the FA Cup lah ... kidding!)

Look out for email updates hor, I'll be posting an update sometime this week. Basically, summarize info in our emails.

If only someone took pics of the SUPER SUCCULENT 排骨王 the last time... I swear, I've renounced going kosher forever after that Malacca trip! *heh heh*


3. National Runway (or runaway?) Cycling

To quote Yuzhen:

Date: Sunday, 3 June 2007
Time: 8am
Venue: Paya Lebar Air Base

Family Route: 6km (Obviously we'll take this route)
VitaHealth Leisure Route: 15km
Shimano Endurance Challenge: Cyclists - 45km
Endurance Challenge: Inline Skaters - either 15km or 30km

Registration is free. You can bring your own bike or rent 1 for $18.

Normally our group only goes out to eat. Maybe this time we can do something more healthy!

Well, do give it some thought yah? We could always take this opportunity to burn off all we digest 4 days after our Kulai feast! *heh heh*

4. Kelong trip

As per Fern's suggestion. I think it'll be great to have a 'lil idyllic getaway together. As we're waiting for Pulsator (heh heh) to return to Fried Rice paradise, we're likely looking at about Sept or Oct for that kelong stay. Might have to book early though. KIV Eric's auntie's kelong?

Btw, Ben, to help you miss home food:

More later!

MerV
U da Man!

HAPPY Brother's *nope* Bother *ahem* MOTHER'S DAY!

Dear all,

Happy Mother's Day! Esp to the dearest mummy of all... the only one in our blog lah! (Edited: Following comments earlier directed to Fern deleted... for sensitive faith reasons o.O )



Here's to all our mummies - "HELLO MUM!" *waves* - and mummies-to-be here:
(in no particular order):

May

Maria

(Following list refers to FUTURE blessings: don't try to claim now hor! :P)

Jo

Yuzhen

Tomo

Cherie

Clara (and Clarah :D)

Michelle

and to all women of God (I may have left out),

whom God has anointed to be the guiding light to point us to God's love. This is for you!!! (erm...)



That's why we boys need God's love, hahahahahahaha...

MerV

Ben's Blog

Hi Ppl
Check out my blog @http://benedicttay.blogspot.com/
Post my latest pic here cos i wanted my colleagues to see as well
still got no time to blog..
But pics first

Why Manchester United is a Godly team :D

As promised...

I realize there're actually 4 Man U fans amongst us Godly people! Yiippeeeeee!!! *kallang wave: Kev-Bernard-Jason-MerV*

(so the score stands at:
4 non-football fans 0 )

If we include Fern, that's 5 of us *grin*

OK, just a short quip. For MANY years in our church, we have Pastors, Dn Jack etc (he's a Liverfool, I mean, Liverpool fan *yeughks* :þ) all sliming our beloved Man U, saying we're called the "Red Devils", why should we root for a team named after the devil yada yada yada... (at least we take comfort in the fact that Dn Azhar - a church leader leh! - is on our winning side *grin*

Well, one day, it just came to me lor! Why we declare the term "Red Devils" on Man U? Coz the devil had been defeated BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB LIAO MAH!!! Why you think we have VICTORY AFTER VICTORY??!?! COME BROS, LET'S CELEBRATE THAT WE'RE ON THE WINNING SIDE, AMEN!!!

*big fat wide grin*


Oh, quiz time!
Q: What colour is Jesus' blood? Issit:

1. Red?
2. White?

*heh heh heh* ... OK, better stop my rambling for now, CHEERS!

MerV
"U da Man!"


For you (us) football fans: a tribute to our winning team who exemplifies courage in the face of adversity:



Which football team (Man U or otherwise) would you say characterizes our Lord Jesus most closely? And why?

random photos

i mean, i know this is sick, but i'm sure kev wants a record of his ordeal haha

May posing for the camera =P so fun to play with the camera in the Rock haha

wah i kena dian already, so beautifuls

what do you think of maria's new hairdo? i think it's v nice leh

The Story of Three bullets

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an old rifle and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go but hunting and kill some wild game for dinner.

As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit. He shot at the rabbit and missed it. The rabbit ran away.

Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel and missed it. The squirrel disappeared into a hole in a cottonwood tree.

As he went further, he saw a large wild "Tom" turkey in the tree, but he had only one bullet remaining. A voice spoke to him and said, "Pray first, aim high and stay focused."

However, at the same time, he saw a deer which was a better kill. He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a rattlesnake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought the gun down further to shoot the rattlesnake.

Still, the voice said again to him, "I said Pray, Aim high and Stay focused."

So, the man decided to listen to God's voice. He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree and shot the wild turkey. The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer. The handle fell off the gun and hit the snake in the head and killed it. And, when the gun had gone off, it knocked him into a pond. When he stood up to look around, he had fish in all his pockets, a dead deer and a turkey to eat for his family.

The snake (Satan) was dead simply because the man listened to God.

Moral of the story:
Pray first before you do anything, Aim and shoot high in your goals, and
stay focused on God. Never let others discourage you concerning your past. The past is exactly that, "the past."

Live every day one day at a time and remember that only God knows our future and that he will not put you through any more than you can bear .

Do not look to man for your blessings, but look to the doors that only He
has prepared in advance for you in your favor.

Wait, be still and patient: keep God first and everything else will follow.

What you focus on, you will expand!

What You Focus On, You Will Expand!
by Patricia King

1. We often feel inferior and have no confidence in our abilities or ourselves. Somehow, we have forgotten we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are made perfect in Christ. Why do we choose to look at ourselves with the eyes of the enemy instead of seeing what God sees in us? God thinks we are perfect – why don’t we believe God? Look into your heart and rejoice! You are made perfect and that’s exactly the way God created you.

“You dear children are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world” 1John 4:4

2. Focusing on disease and fear instead of health and well-being. We speak about it, we think about it but we fail to see that none of those things came from God. What you focus on, you will empower! By allowing the enemy to convince us we are not good enough, we are not able to see others and ourselves with God’s eyes. Talking about a sickness and a disease will empower that very thing. We need to focus on the good and the healthy in our lives and in our bodies. Every time you feel like saying – my arms don’t work the way they used to, try saying, Thank God my legs still work amazingly. Praise God for the good in your life.

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. Philippians 4:13

3. We need to be aware of the confessions we make. Use caution in what we speak out. Words have power and we can give life to lies and the enemy. When we hear the enemy and we speak it out, we can empower the enemy and the very thing that we don’t want to happen. For example, we say, “We are not smart enough, not educated enough, not good looking enough”. We put power into these words. If you say you can never get that job, that house and speak it out, you have just put a curse on yourself. Even if you don’t believe it, say it. Keep repeating the positive until you believe it. The truth is a powerful weapon. Don’t let anyone take it away from you!

4. God looks at the heart so why don’t we? We need to focus on the positive in people and look at their heart; anything else is not from God. There will be days you won’t be able to look into the mirror and smile. There will be days you won’t be able to look at your husband/wife and smile. Those are the days you can change your life. It is vital that we concentrate on the positive! By looking at the good qualities in a person, we can change our outlook. Instead of saying, “My husband never brings me flowers”. Try saying, “My husband always makes me smile”. The rest will follow. The atmosphere in your home will change and the people around you will notice that you are carrying God’s love.

5. Fact vs. Truth - We have the facts/circumstances and we have the truth/God's Word, and we get to choose which to believe. That which you focus on you empower, and God's Word has much more life and truth than any fact. Choose Love!

6. Truth is powerful: We are in a season of change and LOVE and TRUTH are our most powerful weapons. I just started reading a book recently by Rick Joyner called The Final Quest and in the first chapter, he is talking about a dream. In this dream he and others are climbing a mountain and the higher they go the more tiny and slippery the ledges get. He is in a battle with the enemy, he has a sword and arrows, and at one point instead of using his sword to fight, he dug it into the ground as an anchor and tied himself to it. I could go on and on with all the significance in the dream, but the main thing is that he made a decision to anchor himself to the Word of God/truth and in doing that, had greater stability and accuracy in hitting the enemy with his arrows. Let's allow truth to be our anchor and tied to that nothing can shake us.

praise Jesus

hope this short devotional speaks truth to you. like what Pastor Prince said before, Proverbs 18:21 doesn't just say the power of life and death is in the tongue, but goes on to say that he who loves it will EAT THE FRUIT THEREOF.

it's my heart's desire that everyone eats GOOD and RIPE and HEALTHFUL fruit =) amen!

Kulai trip

FIRST POST! Sorry for being so procrastinistic about following up on all your posts, I sure cannot finish reading from day 1 one. Was thinking of writing about football aka Man U, but then more than 50% of us would probably roll his/her eyes. Happy to say that Fern wouldn't be one of them! (Right Fern? OI OI!!!)

OK, as per (very short) discussion after this evening's supper, here are the details:

KULAI TRIP

Main event: MAKAN in KULAI, Johor *wooooo hoooooooooooooo*
Follow-up: Hopefully followed by sweet fellowship, maybe even worship
Date: 31st May 2007 (Thursday)
Time: After 6pm (meeting time and place to be decided later)
Mode of transport: Available cars and motorbikes

The lovely people (I'd personally love to be there) for our get-together:

• Daniel
• Niq
• Yuzhen
• Jolene
• Kevin
• May
• Bernard
• Maria
• Eric
• Cherie
• Clara


(Just edited, sorry, left out our dear brother and sister -> My sotongity)

• Jason
• Tomo

Hope I didn't miss anyone else out? It'll be a wonderful time of makan (wah lau, salivating already just thinking about the KING pork ribs) and fellowship. It's gonna be on a public holiday, so I guess we can expect the causeway to be crowded with dinner-goers, Malaysian home-getters and political castaways (just kidding). As we're probably gonna fellowship til quite late, must bear in mind that next day is a working day (but it's Friday!). May's already indicated she can't join us

So, please write in comments to indicate if you can join in hor? No comments means "CAN" by default! *buahahahahahah*

More details on the way, cheers!
MerV

PS. My promise: Next post(s) would be on football (it's FOOTBALL, don't follow the American wussies and say "soccer"! :D)

National Runway Cycling

Found this on the safra website. Anyone interested? Thought it would be fun if we go as a big group.

Date: Sunday, 3 June 2007
Time: 8am
Venue: Paya Lebar Air Base

Family Route: 6km (Obviously we'll take this route)
VitaHealth Leisure Route: 15km
Shimano Endurance Challenge: Cyclists - 45km
Endurance Challenge: Inline Skaters - either 15km or 30km

Registration is free. You can bring your own bike or rent 1 for $18.

Normally our group only goes out to eat. Maybe this time we can do something more healthy!

Gratitude for Ungrateful Days

Gratitude for Ungrateful Days
by Max Lucado

“Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus”
(I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NCV).

Look at the totality of those terms. Always be joyful. Pray continually. Give thanks whatever happens. Learn a lesson from Sidney Connell. When her brand-new bicycle was stolen, she called her dad with the bad news. He expected his daughter to be upset. But Sidney wasn’t crying. She was honored. “Dad,” she boasted, “out of all the bikes they could have taken, they took mine.”

Make gratitude your default emotion, and you’ll find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life. Need spice in your day? Thank God for every problem that comes down the pike. Is any situation so dire that gratitude is eliminated? Some of the ladies at the Women of Faith Conference thought it was. This great organization fills arenas with women, and women with hope. The president, Mary Graham, told me about one particular weekend in which a shortage of space tested everyone’s patience.

The floor had 150 fewer seats than needed. The arena staff tried to solve the problem by using narrow chairs. As a result, every woman had a place to sit, but everyone was crowded. Complaints contaminated like feedlot fragrance. Mary asked Joni Eareckson Tada, a speaker for the evening, if she could calm the crowd. Joni was perfectly qualified to do so. A childhood diving accident has left her wheelchair-bound. The attendants rolled her onto the platform, and Joni addressed the unhappy crowd. “I understand some of you don’t like the chair in which you are sitting. Neither do I. But I have about a thousand handicapped friends who would gladly trade places with you in an instant.”

The grumbling ceased.

Yours can too.

Impossible, you say? How do you know? How do you know until you give every day a chance?

Daily Word by Joyce Meyer

shalom to all...
Just wana share this Daily Word with you, taken frm Joyce Meyer website...

The Wonderful Holy Spirit - 6th May 2007

Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith... —Hebrews 12:2

Do you fellowship with your problem or with the Lord?
The devil wants us to think about our problem, worry about our problem, talk about and try to reason out our problem. God desires for us to spend time with Him, talk to Him, and think about Him and His Word.
Jesus is the One we are to look to in order to have our needs met. If we dwell in Him, our problem has no power over us, but if we dwell on the problem, we magnify it above Him. The more attention we give our problem, the more we feed it, the more power it has over us.
I remember when my husband and I were having financial struggles. I would give Dave the bad report, and he would give me the Word, telling me to cast my care on the Lord. He would fellowship with God while I fellowshipped with the problem. The more I did so, the more upset I became.
The devil starts the problem rolling. The more you think, worry, reason, talk, plan, and scheme about it, the bigger it gets. If you look to Jesus, you will experience the miracle power of God as you trust in Him.

Do This:
Forget your problems. Don't think about them, worry about them, or talk about them. Fellowship with God instead, and you will enjoy life tremendously.

Godtube

first there was youtube, then there was godtube.

www.godtube.com

check it out

Fractional Reserve Banking

Hi guys, did some research when i came back, thought you might be interested in knowing what our banking system is based on - "Fractional" Reserve Banking as opposed to "Full" Reserve Banking.

In 16th century England people who had gold would deposit it with goldsmiths for safekeeping. In exchange they got a signed receipt guaranteeing that they could retrieve it. The value assigned to that note backed by the gold in the goldsmith’s vault made it possible for one to use it in payment.

That means if A deposited £10 worth of gold and had in his possession a receipt, he could settle his debt with it. That receipt became money. The person who took it in payment could either use it as it is, or at some later point retrieve the gold in the goldsmith’s keeping.

At the same time B borrows £10 worth of gold from the goldsmith but receives a promissory note. He settles his debt to C with that note. Now there are two notes in circulation for one amount of gold. The goldsmith being smart realises that these notes can actually be in circulation for quite some time, several years even. He issues further notes knowing that it's highly unlikely that everyone would claim their gold at the same time.

According to contemporary economical calculations he can safely lend at least ten times the amount deposited. If there are two or more people who suddenly wish to retrieve their gold, he can also rely on the fact that he has debtors who owe him gold, although they originally received nothing but a piece of paper. They then have to pay him in gold, and should they default he could seize whatever possessions they had, sell these, buy gold and settle the claims. I might add that the goldsmith of course lent out promissory notes for non-existent gold at interest.

Today’s banks do the same.

Simply put, every loan given is a deposit. You go to the bank, ask for a loan of say $1000 and they open an account for you to that amount. If you ask for it in cash to settle a debt, someone else will eventually deposit that amount. You of course still owe your bank that money, which was created out of nothing the moment you opened your mouth. The money created is debt to which they add interest.

And that is Fractional Reserve Banking for you.

haha.

for further reading, check out gold standard on wikipedia, or investing in gold

ok v tired liao, going to sleep. gdnite everyone!

Our Father loves us

Read a fren's blog and felt that what she posted was very encouraging and i felt very comforted reading what she abstracted from a Rick Warren book.

God has a purpose behind every problem.

He uses circumstances to develop our character. Jesus warned us that we would have problems in the world. Life is a series of problems. Every time you solve one, another is waiting to take its place. Not all of them are big, but all are significant in God's growth process for you.

Peter assures us that problems are normal, saying, "Don't be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for his is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you."

The Lord is close to the broken hearted, he rescues those who are crushed in spirit. Your most intimate time with the Lord will most likely be in your darkest day. When we are in pain, we don't have the energy for superficial prayers.

Joni Eareckson Tada notes: When life is rosy, we may slide by with knowing about Jesus, with imitating him and quoting him and speaking of him. But only in suffering will we know Jesus. We learn things about God in suffering that we can't learn any other way.

Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves. As Paul testified: We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us."

Every of your circumstances are Father Filtered.