So much to thank God for, for piecing the puzzle together.

As the anxiousness is building up, i pray every night that God enable me to place my trust in Him.

Still awaiting a major confirmation, so been praying about that as well. Followed by lots of accounting to do when everything has been confirmed. so been praying about that as well. A levels are creeping in, so been praying about that as well. health becoming fragile, so been praying about that as well. Discipline, time management, wisdom and intelligence in revision, so been praying about that as well. My fellow A levellers, O levellers, so been praying for them as well.

There's so much to pray for. I need to pray for forgiveness for this tinge of reluctance to pray to God because of laziness to pray for all these.

Jia You everyone.

Vin

10.29pm
JIAYOU PEOPLE

two more dayssssssssssss

inGODwetrust

:)

ei. s
h
a n
g
h
a i


BABE:)

LETSALLGOSHANGHAI:):P:)

(i post to add another voice to this blog besides vinny boy's post)

Oh man!

i'm ecstatic beyond words!

I'm leaping! Jumping! Splitting! Flying! Shouting! Flipping! AHHHHH!!!!!

My God is a GOD that is truely indeed in control!!!

Vin

hi, how are you guys?

tomorrow will be an exciting day.

i'll be going to school for my first consultation with teacher. Its very scary when most people are making a beeline for the teachers for the past months/ more so 4 weeks. So i've decided to join in the fray only tomorrow, haha, which is very late.

after that, i'm gonna be heading down to an equally exciting birthday party. I had my initial qualms about it at first, coz exams are really nearing. But God forgive me for my reluctance and i'm now quite excited. Because i see how God works in a young person's heart and causes it to grow, and i'm just honoured to be part of it and to lend my support. yes, thank God. Who's the person? wahhaa.. Ask me!

anyway, have you ever met someone very very nice but isn't a Christian? Then you go 'Darn, How can he/she not be a Christian! what a pity!', then you leave feeling quite sad, but feels good coz you've met that person who's very nice.
I haven't met one in quite a while, coz those people are hard to find.

I have this lingering thought that i thought it'll not be entirely ruled to be untrue, in fact, i totally, absolutely, wholly back it. i just need people to tell me i'm smart. haha.

Do you know whats the cause of the abundance of oil (crude oil) in the middle east? In case you dunno, its the region which is flourishing because they are filthy rich just exporting oil.
1. God has blessed that region with so much black gold. i think God favours the middle east, especially Israel. And i think that partially explains why the Israelis have the handsomest, most charming men that exists. (why not women ah? - coz God created Man first?).
2. Millions died -ed -ed in that region, just read the bible and you'll know. Sodom, Gomorrah, Red Sea, at the desert - they can't see kingdom of God coz they defied God. So after thousand of years, their decomposed corpses turned into oil. God really has foresight man. He provides for our needs. Oil is rather indispensible at this age.

But retaliators will argue that erm, Senegal, Nigeria, hack, even South American areas (OPEC) and Brunei are blessed with oil. i'm yet to think of how to rebut that.

i forgot to announce here that my enlistment date is in April (forgot the exact date, havent read the letter yet, coz my dad opened it for me and he stashed it away), much to my disappointment, but all in God's good plans.
Going in the same date as Zack & Yi Xin's brother, from what i know..
Our dear officer Liangfa seems extremely disgusted at my attitude and thinks disaster awaits my footsteps. I'm gonna be mentally tough, shut up, and pray that i'll end up in a job that Benjamin has now. i'm not a leader, never has been one.

Give me a Nobel Prize
Vin

i'm sorry RenJie, i was frustrated coz i couldn't do maths. sorry i didn't help you, sorry. you probably must have solved it by now, but in any case in future if u need help, please feel free to call me.

for the record, i finally feel that maths is irritating, after so much practice i still can't weave everything together, its like mished and mashed everywhere, ahh!

whatever.
vin

Shao Ning scared me stiff late last night when we ran into each other in MSN.
A levels is the exam that is cumulative of 10 years of education.

This statement scared the spirits out of me that i logged off soonest and headed to my books.
still i feel i'm not very productive? grr.

i saw this advertisement on CNN late past midnight yesterday, it was inspirational, and beautiful, it compels aspiration, achievements, and great success even before everything began. i felt like floating again.
vin

i've changed the option of 'all of the above' to 'send smses of encouragement'.
So yup, we need them all. ha

vin

i've changed the option of 'all of the above' to 'send smses of encouragement'.
So yup, we need them all. ha

vin

Who is the King of the Jungle.

J-E-S-U-S

please don't be unthinking. to the 4 people who said 'me, me' and 'Ah Meng' as their response, you are dangerously close to being a cult leader, as you've veered too much off the right track.

but to the minority who lives in a castle, you're forgiven for not knowing what 'Ah Meng' really is, which explains the incorrect response. In fact, you can pass off as a bimbo(F)/ bimba(M).

note: only princesses and princes live in castle, they hardly know of anything outside.

vin

have things to thank God for today:

met my new Christian std (yes, the 1 i mentioned previously), i'm really thankful that he's displayed interest in coming for Project Serve activities, i'm very thankful he's open to me and what i've told him, i'm excited. I feel like its God's grace solely, the future looks bright as the sun for the ministry. thank God, throughout the year it appeared to be sluggish, chokish, now, after much prayers, things are starting to pick up.

Was supposed to be mtg 2 other EBS students. planned to finish up EBS with them today, have been dragging for really long. 1 of them cancelled last minute. So i stalled until my last appointment with the other 1 at 5pm. After stalling for another hour subsequently i left the place, with bitter-sweetness. Bitter because the student didn't turn up, the earlier student cancelled. Bitter because i couldn't complete EBS. Bitter because i felt i've wasted my time doing all that waiting. sat from 2pm-6pm. Bitter because i care for them too much to let them go. Bitter because i'm upset over my assessment of them. Sweet because i'm encouraged by my new Christian student. The sweetness is strong enough to overcome the bitterness.

please pray for both me and my student. Pray for teachable heart for the student. Pray i'll remain faithful, committed to the ministry, handling what God has graciously given to the ministry and to me with great maturity. pray that God uses me for the students' growth.

i've been secretly hoping for something, fuelled by my passion for that something, it has been going on for almost 2 years now, i hope it'll be fulfilled, otherwise, disappointment is to precipitate which may be too much for me to handle. I pray.

vin

names

ever wondered what you'll name your kid? it may not be yours, like someone's kid, like a name you really like.

haha... i bet you all have thought b4.

mine would be Danielle for a girl. its a cool cool dudey cool name. i will choose Monica for someone radical. If i'm living in the West, I'll have Amelie, inspired by my fav tennis player :P
for a guy, Guo Jie is a nice one, so is Wen Hui (not Ren Hui), havent thought of any nice Christian names yet, i used to like Ethan.

that was some randomness.
thank God for the rain!! amazing, Philippians prayed for rain yesterday, God gave rain today. but with the rain, its been pretty gloomy la..

still glad the rain came!
vin

Mtg between me & a Sec1 student this afternoon:

..... 15 mins into the mtg.....

Vin: Your whole family is Christian?
Stud: ya, but we all attend different churches, we're split. haha..
Vin: Oh why leh?
Stud:(says something about his dad which i can't recall which tells of why they go different churches)
Vin: which church does your dad go to?
Stud: you know the one at Pheonix LRT, but he goes to chinese service, he's working there.
Vin: errr.. is it BPGC? err.. its my church! haha, i go there too lor.
Stud: i think so la. haha
Vin: what does he work as?
(puzzled, who can be working there besides Pastor Ong from Chinese side)
Stud: erm, something like a pastor assistant like that, i'm not sure.
Vin: ha?? (don't tell me this is Pastor Ong's 4th kid) what's his name?
Stud: Pastor Kong, he attend the Chinese service 1.
Vin: Pastor Kong?? i attend the Chinese service also but how come i dunno. (terribly confused)
Stud: haha... maybe its the wrong church..
Vin: nono, there only got 1 lor. the Pheonix LRT one.
..... leave topic..... .......10mins later......
Vin turns to Zi Xin who's mtg another personnel behind me.
Vin: Aye, Zi Xin you know our church got Pastor Kong the person a not?
Zi Xin: *shakes head* Aye wait! i think i know! is it Jiang Pastor?!
Vin to stud: PASTOR JIANG?!! Kong is jiang?!! jiang quan wei pastor?
Stud: *grins* ya. jiang wei quan.
Vin: jaw dropped

Thanksgiving, thanksgiving, thanksgiving. been praying for a Christian from BPGHS so hard this year, God gave a few. He's the only 1 i met this year. its very amazing, during the 3 day maths program (remember?) held a couple of months ago, he's the only 1 i had asked about his religion, he's the only Christian i got to know of through the prog, i secretly stored his handphone number from the feedback form given to the company who ran the prog (its not really allowed), so i can contact him again. its grace, really God's grace. its wonderfully planned. Some more, he's in Zi Xin's class. haha. anyway, Zi Xin is really encouraging, i feel she's really growing. She cutely exclaimed: 'aye Hans! u Christian ah! never tell me!!' i grinned widely again.

certainly its my prayer that he may commit his holiday time to meaningful activities, so he may grow in godliness through understanding of the Bible, and also in being equipped to become a better evangelist. pray that God will keep this young heart, may He strengthen it.
there're certain issues i'll need to address to him as observed from the maths prog, of all the groups, i picked his group of 3 to run around with -see? God's plan. so i need courage, and love.
Grace - something we don't deserve, but given to us.

thank God!
vin

good news , good news.

'HAPPY MATHS STUDENTS = LOUSY SCORES' reads the heading of a newspaper article today.

' the nations with the best scores have the least happy, least confident students.... The report, released yesterday, said a 'happiness factor' of US mathematics students to perform at the test levels of Singapore, China, South Korea, Japan, and other countries...' -AP

http://www.ksdk.com/news/education/education_article.aspx?storyid=105682 -USA Today

'What's perhaps most startling: Kids in Singapore, a math powerhouse, didn't regard themselves nearly as highly as those in the USA: 39% of U.S. students said they "usually do well" in math. Only 18% in Singapore said the same.But the Singapore kids knew much more math than the U.S. kids. In fact, the least confident Singapore students scored higher than the most confident in the USA.'

so for those of you who are reduced to tears by maths, deplore maths, detest maths, hate maths, don't fret!
you may be smarter than those who are married to maths.
yup, just an encouragement to those who have an extreme dislike for maths.

another interesting thingy i noticed just now when i went to YAHOO! accidentally, at a corner of the page, something caught my eye just when i was about to quit the page. ha. under most 'popular apparel searches ' Lacoste is ranked 8th, just behind Nike. those were the only 2 brand names up there. wahha, maybe i should become a fashion analyst next time, i've discovered my hidden talent. hahaha.

going to meet a new Sec 1 Christian now! i'm so excited!!

vin

in an apparent attempt to spice up the face of this page, i've intelligently added a poll!

yes, do you know, its the 'in' thing now! with the Big Brother - USA presidential elections around the corner, which will certainly be ever so fiercely contested, threatening to change the face of the earth literally. finally Bush can step down, much to everyone's relief, and a big thank you for the mess he'd created, may the citizens sing God bless America for his predecessor. Also, the much publicized Singapore's very own Star Awards! going to the phonelines!

now, for the philippians and all, even you who keep silent. The collapse of the tagboard may be a blessing in disguise. wahaa.

vote away guys! :)
vin

note: i'm very excited because i've brilliantly navigated my way through symbolic language at the html pasteboard to insert the polling booth at a very good location. considering the kuku at IT i am.
in case those of you who think that i eat finish nothing to do with 13 days to A levels still do these things, let me assure you i had my butts down the entire afternoon doing work. haa.. i'll heading back after this short interval. yup.

in view of the judgemental and impetuous previous post and overwhelming guilt on my part, i must say i'm sorry for any insensitivities caused. i must not have fully understand what service is.

So in light of all these, i'm not going to delete it as it still holds a certain degree of truth in it, and i'm going to place 5 smiley faces in this post to colourize this otherwise tense place i feel. Now that some mysteria hangs over the tagboard, the only vent in which people can channel their feelings in and out is shut, so smiley faces is ideal ya? :)

when i take another look at the post, i feel like a hypocrite, its like pouring out of words i will say to myself lor, like giving myself a dozen slaps. well, if its for the betterment of me, so be it.

well, i'm gonna be panicking. exams are starting in exactly 2 weeks' time. The culmination my 12 years of suicidal education. :) i was just pondering on my long stroll back home just now on the importance of these A levels. i really desire to enter either NUS/ NTU (how bold of me to say this) coz i don't want to drain my finances opting for private university. So its all up to these 2 weeks, thats it lor. yup, so please keep zijun, shaoning, rinus, yeewah, zhengwei, eunice in your daily prayers as much as we remember you guys in our prayers :) This year has been really stressful for me.

Read: Psalm 31

i've got a home in glory land that outshines the sun!
Do Lord, O do Lord, O do remember me! :)

Do remember to count your blessings to see what God has done for us. So we experience God in our daily lives and thank Him for everything, good or bad. :)
Jiayou people
vin

what is service without pain?

Go, talk to more people, to expand your severely impotent viewpoint on service.

You know, a lot of times, service require you to sacrifice, step out of that comfortable circle you're all too comfortable to step out of. Are we like giving our best to God? Can a servant live an independent life? i think not lor, a servant is bonded for life. So erm, how much of our sacrifice is of the best may i ask?

come on people, lets be a good servant k, because God is indeed worthy of our service, in the light of who He is, want He has done for us. Pray for this courage to leave our self-centredness behind, and consider how we may use our resources (e.g time, youthfulness) wisely and fruitfully :)

Till you guys suffer, ......
service ain't only be done out of convenience.
golly, i'd better evaluate my service too. please pray i'll serve whole-heartedly, be focused.
God's grace has never been more prominent than this year :) i've learnt to better depend on Him.

Anyway, happy birthday SuYing our one and only princess!

Oh no, its the 15/10/2006, half a month to go, i feel more disciplined than ever today, sat thru the entire afternoon doing maths. thank God ya.

the above mentioned stuffs and issues are some of what i've been struggling with too and i still am, so pardon me if i sound bad. i'll stop here, otherwise i'll feel even more guilty. ha. Just seek your prayers too.
please pen down your prayer requests too ok, so we can still pray for each other.
pray for humility and clear-mindedness,
vin

i think we should really remember our Church leaders in our prayers.

God has made me conscious of that everytime when i pray this week. Mysterious isn't it.
Then i thought of the amount of responsibilities our amiable dear Pastor Ong is shouldering. He seems to, no, he has his hands on every ministry in Church- from youth ministry to Chinese PRC ministry. But more that often we don't realise the the heaviness of the workload he's bearing. Like how encouraging is it when we conveniently doze off during sermon, prefering to breathe in dusty air outside over the air-con inside by going for toilet breaks, how about the response to the sermons. What attitude do we bring with us to church? the longing for the sermon to end sooner?

How saddening when we complain about the homework pastor dishes out at the end of a course that stretches over months. i dun think Pastor will say 'let's cancel class today, because i've got an important sermon to prepare tomorrow, so i've got no time to prepare for class'. What is that homework compared to the preparation effort pastor puts in preparing every class. we bargain with the teacher ya. We hand in half-hearted work.

I guess Pastor, in his enduring patience above all, prays for someone who can step it up 1 day to lead the youth ministry. So in the meantime, we pray that we'll continue to pray for such a person, pray for the leaders in church- the director often goes unnoticed in his actions. i think Uncle Freddie & Pastor Ong have their hands full le. So pray for good direction, wise decisions, and continual growth of the church, or the youth ministry as a whole. I guess thats the greatest encouragement to our leaders.

Oh ya, he's also the 1 who's the last to get the nice stuffs, normally when they're limited in stock. i've kinda noticed that a lot of times. probably we can like offer bread or a double portion of cheesecake to the elders 1st before we take ours.

hmm, pastor preached about looking into the interests of others last week.
vin

To all JJCians of the yesteryear, all JJCians as of the present.
i did the unthinkable today.

i walked home from school. ha..
hmm. today is the final official school day. nothing special happened. Until after lunch when my friend & I were about to leave school from home, she asked me whether i wanted to walk to Lakeside MRT with her to take bus (She lives in Choa Chu Kang), thereby saving 45cents of bus fare. Then i pounced on the idea of walking home directly, since my EZ-Link card is out of money. I was in a fix coz i dun wanna use coins as i wanted to pay the minimum price a consumer is able and willing to pay. So absurd as it may sound, me in my full school uniform, we set out on this expedition just like that. ha..

The route we took is categorized into 3 zones:
Red zone: otherwise known as the danger zone. it was a path untouched, undiscovered by most, off the beaten track. This is the type of pathway when you scream no one will come to your rescue. My friend hesitated when we reached the entrance to the pathway, which just really is a filmsy rusty gate which supposedly serves the purpose barrier to entry. my friend wasn't comforted when i picked up a fallen branch as a tool to ward off all evil. Everything seems to indicate that we shouldn't proceed further. ignoring all perils that may await us, we ambled past a small station in which around 15 idols is sheltered, which was kinda eerie.

Amber zone: we almost kissed ground upon completion of our 1st stage, God has allowed us to live a moment longer. I love this new zone that we've entered into. Of moderate danger, it is still very ulu (the 174 route). But i saw something which really made my day. A beautifulllll KingFisher!!! goodness, its so SO BEAUTIFUL, especially its baby blue wings when spread out. I saw the bird up close, i bet it smiled at me when it folded its wings. too bad dun have camera. WOW. it was taken out of a Jurong Bird Park advertisement spread i saw on a bus later on. You don't have to go there nor Sungei Buloh. This section is littered with amber coloured leaves to the end, like autumn you know.

Green Zone: no danger, we've reached the main road which runs all the way down to CCK, Bukit Panjang. (bus180 route). or so we thought there's no danger. Shocked to find a medium sized Monitor Lizard in the middle of the pavement, size of a dog. it scurried into the thick vegetation, where it has escaped from. We gingerly tip toed past that part of the bush, praying it wouldn't dart out suddenly. Then we witnessed a chameleon which caught a giant centipede with its mouth.

There, Corporation Road to Fajar Road, saving $1.65 of busfare otherwise paid by coins, or $1.15 by EZ-Link.
i got myself a sweetalk at plaza on my way. haaa. $1.20.

KingFisher rox
vin

Hi!

this semi-productivity that most A Levellers feel after prelims (right 'Cousin' & Shao Ning?) is deemed to be undesirable. So dear all who reads this: please pray that we'll really buck up as of today, there's 20 days more to go to our 1st paper, which in reality isn't that much of time left ya.

i'm mtg 2 Sec 1 contacts to pass them a card and tracts tomorrow. i admit i'm late in doing so, coz their exams ended on tuesday, nonetheless, these 3 days are their marking days, which allows me to meet up with them personally rather than doing the sharing over the phone- i really dislike this method coz i can't gauge the person's responses and feelings, plus i think theres this certain degree of discomfort also. Must also be quite careful of the timings, i dun want their whole family and parents to be beside them when i call. ha. preventive measures is better than earning a scolding of course.
So can pray 4 me ya? pray for courage, discipline, and love for them.

Engaged in a coversation with my friend just now. i realised how frail relationships can be. i mean, not lasting. which reminded me of some words said to me by my previous personnel and another person. She said during her Secondary school days, she and her CCA peers were very close to one another, vowing not to break the strong bonds even after they leave Secondary school. the idea did not hold. i remembered i had arrogantly dismissed that kind of idea she gave me, thinking it will never happen to me.
How true, it did. And i took it rather hard too.
So someone said that Christian relationships are the most lasting of all, eternally guarded in God, gelled by God. I mean, its so true isn't it, pple with same interests, same heart...

Whatever it is, i'm longing to catch up with my friend, there's too much to be said to be fully done through the internet. haa. but schedule doesn't permit.

can't wait for the Asiad to come, and go. haa.
I've unexpectedly received an e-mail from a department in Asiad. Its a very very pleasant e-mail, which got me all excited. But after reading continuous reports over the past week about the Singapore Olympic Council complaining and whining about the lack of beds for our athletes, which summoned a statement by the organisers, my outlook is all but pleasant.

I think sometimes Singaporeans should just shut up, put up with adversities and stop complaining and whining about every single discrepancy that occur, making an issue out of it.
Oops
vin

how sensitive are we to the needs of the people.
Lets not go up to higher scales, but your friends, or so you call them. But many times we, i included, bury ourselves in unmeaningful banterings when we meet up with our friends, engaging in all kinds of laughter and talks all but ourselves. Does this help in allowing us to see the needs of our friends, even those who you regard close to you?

sigh, if we fail to do so, then the relationship is awkward; emotionally saddening when we are upset that we dun understand each other.
Truely, let us look into the interests and needs and concerns of our friends.
lets pray
vin

i'm rather ashamed of myself. The John Quiz i was subdued. The groups, natually, chose all the ' Hard' questions which is well, hard. i think we should just choose the easy and medium ones, which can be answered easier. But a little time consuming la, coz need to run to find the MC.


another John quiz? wahhaa.

argh. just quite frustrated coz i can't answer the hard questions. need to read John more.

vin

Read John everyone! GO READ JOHN!

when the oceans rise and thunders roar
i will soar with You above the storm
Father You are King over the flood

i will be still and know You are God.

be still

vin

so.

thanksgiving: my effort for prelims has been richly rewarded.
got back the last of the papers today. really surprised that i scored well for my DRQ & Case Study. coz i'm never good at econs, i failed essay by the way.
So, in retrospect, i'm thankful for the results which exceeded expectations. passed everything except Chemistry MCQ & Econs Essay. thank God.
thank God for having the discipline to study for the prelims, i've suggested to my parents that they should excape to Timor Leste the period when i'm taking my As. Regretfully, work doesn't permit off days.

i followed my frantic parents just now who were determined to hunt down the lengendary Raffles Hotel mooncakes, all in preparation for the homecoming of my bro who is dearly missed at home for 3 weeks now.
The mischievous mooncakes are nowhere to be found this year, except at the front door to the stupendous hotel, which i think its a smart move towards being a premier brandname & being lucrative.

funny, whats wrong with Singapore. Singapore icons are really silly.
Printed on the box of mooncakes, is a protrait of a lady who existed in the Oriental ages, sitting in a suggestive manner with an expression that draws you to her, so you open the box, take a piece of the cake with added sweetness, thats why the mooncakes are lengendary. double feasting?
then there's the Singapore girl, which really don't need any more comments.
oh, the merlion!! i love Singapore icons.

vin

went to my classmate's grandfather's funeral today.
some thoughts:
is it ok for us as Christians to take part in the ceremonial processions? not saying that we willingly join in without voicing out or making our stand known first. But what if u are like 'forced' by ur mum? like when you come under pressure from ur family members? will you go ahead, of course, knowing that ur faith won't be shaken.

its legitimate argument that by concession, your participation somehow may affect: testimony; an incident/example that can be raked up again to put pressure on other Christians in similar situations; will it stumble others?

the worst is not voicing out, not making any stand.

ok, thats it for now.
personal update: been slacking for the past week. been hard to accelerate after the prelims. i think 1 week is a long enough break ya. ok. gonna be more determined and urgent because there's 1 MONTH LEFT.
please pray i'll not be complacent. i'm riding on a high coz i added a lot of value to my prelims.
i'll have to expand my productive capacity, move towards full employment level in the meantime to avoid deflation and idling resources, in which, through the multiplier effect, will see a exponential increase in grades.

vin