Contest!!

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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?