Of Faith, Hope, and Love

2007-08-29T17:31:00.000+02:00

A sermon is not to be preached, a sermon is to be lived.

2007-02-10T23:09:00.000+01:00

Day 4 - Birmingham & London

Today B'ham was much better! No snow, and went to St. Martin's church, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with works of Patrick Hughes. This guy specialises in 3D art that deals with optical illusions! pretty cool stuff. =) too bad didnt have time to visit and to eat the cakes at the Edwardian Tea Room. They simply looked succulent. Popped to the Bullring again.

Proceeded to St Martin's Market next to the church - its like our pasar malam, just that it's in the day time. Bought cheap lunch/tea at one of the roadside stalls. =) Proceeded to take the afternoon bus back to London!

It was a little of a pity that I booked the afternoon coach back to London, I did miss out 3 good hours on sights I could have seen. However, on hindsight, I just wanted to leave B'ham early, not knowing that there were so many sights to be seen! Ah wells. Slept the most part of the trip back. Saw a Jewish Settlement in the area near Golders Green, and there were even signboards with Hebrew on them! Of course, not forgetting the kosher food outlets around the area.

London
Back in London, Ant picked me and I went off alone back to Angel. Found my way back to his hall pretty easy, and I proceeded out to Oxford Circus Tube Station via Angel.

Upon reaching, I walked half of Oxford Street, doubled back up and headed down the whole of Regent Street. Went to do a bit of shopping in Zara, Topman, etc. Still can't find a nice looking wallet! and still looking for presents for bro & mum. Hit Shaftesbury Avenue, passed a couple of theatres, and was back in Leicester Square! Went for a simple Subway Dinner, and indulged myself at Rendezvous (read: tiramisu gelato) after! =)

Proceeded to the London Eye area, where the Saatchi Gallery (according to my map & info booklet) was. Upon reaching the area after like a 15-20min walk, I realised that the Gallery closed down 18 months ago! Some wretched tourist information booklet I have! Ah well. I crossed the Waterloo Bridge, into Westminister Tube, and went back to Angel. Popped by to buy a bottle (600ml) of Magner's Cider and some chicken n chips. =)

& that's where I am now, posting and reflecting on the past few days' events... Next Post!

2007-02-10T00:23:00.000+01:00

Bham was crazy today. Snowed like mad - more than i've seen in Lund.
Went to Stratford-upon-Avon but didnt get to see everything. was snowing n everything closes so early! but it was still fun. Much thanks to Pav who was willing to show me around.

think after this trip. needa rest; go back to the roots. haha i miss familiar surroundings. in a sense, i do miss Lund in that way.

going back to london tml, and then to oxford.. quite a busy trip, this. haha. i might just 'nua' tml at Ant's hostel. see how things go. 7 days really long man. and the weather's... haha..

Nonetheless, hope to get some shopping done here, and then its back to Mugg! =)

2007-02-07T01:53:00.000+01:00

Went to Credo today. Its like Christian Fellowship for students. Was a welcome break from the traditional service I go to at the International Church on sundays.

Very different feel. Play contemporary songs (which suited me!), got a charismatic speaker to speak today (which didnt do much for me), and met interesting people!

Met two people in Theology school; spoke to the guest pastor today.. and when i said i was from singapore, all three (albeit separately), went 'oh! kong hee!'. Woah. Singapore's biggest export to Lund. But I may go Uppsala to the Word of Life church to have a look. =)

Adam and Gab came along, and that was cool. Pray for the beginning of budding friendships.

2007-02-07T01:31:00.000+01:00

Three times in 3 days: "Do not forget your first love"

A nudge from God?

2007-02-05T14:41:00.000+01:00

What i have cooked/baked since coming to Lund (those that i can recall!):

02 X Original Cheesecake
01 X New York Cheesecake
Fresh Bread
Curry Chicken
Fried Rice
Carbonara

Lotsa Pasta
Lotsa Rice
Lotsa Swedish Meatballs

More to come! =)

2007-01-29T02:16:00.000+01:00

Okies peepz! back from Berlin n Copenhagen! Berlin was EXCELLENT! Copenhagen was.. expensive...

Here goes:

Monday 22nd
1.Leave Lund at 3pm
2.Reached Berlin at 7pm.
3.Schlafmeile Hostel was excellent! comfy beds n cheap! Nice New Zealander-owned, with a connecting cafe =)
4. Dinner was Pork Knucles, Baked Potatoes n Sauerkraut! At this German Restaurant near Schlafmeile.
5. Drinks & Chill out was at Habermeyer - Dim red lights, nice mixes, 70s music. Not too Bad. :D
6. Sleep

Tuesday 23rd
I think it snowed today.
Super Cold!
Sachsenhausen Museum, 10 Euros. One of the New Berlin Tours. Was my first concentration camp.. quite heavy stuff already.... I wonder how it'd be like at Auschwitz...
Took a while to find dinner, but it was worth while! solid pizza! =) Tretoria's Pizza! =)
Zara's had discounts. but it closed early. 8pm! ;p Too bad for them girls...

Wednesday 24th
Went for the Berlin City Tour.. (FOC!) That wasnt too bad too... learnt a lot about Berlin n the history of the city..
Pergammon Museum Rocked! Pity i did not get enough time to see more museums..
Went to find backpacks, but they were too expensive. Ended up getting more pork knuckles and sauerkraut at a smoky German place, but the 1st day's one was better...

Thursday 25th
Mad Rush Day.
Bought Backpacks for the guys back in Lund.
Bought Gloves for meself.
Bought a new H&M Down Feather Jacket for 48SGD! =))
Fly back to Copenhagen.

Ate a lot of German Sausages along the way. Good n Cheap..

Okok. Lagging in my posting. will update faster!

2007-01-21T23:36:00.000+01:00

been feeling drained the past few days.. dont know why also...

need to settle down after i get back from Berlin & Copenhagen.. time to clear the admin backlog when im back...

If i get the inspiration, will change my template.. haha. =)

as for now.. its about looking forward to the trip tml, and also not forgetting what i have in my heart as i come to this place....

2007-01-19T16:08:00.000+01:00

just a quick post:

finally played tennis today! at this indoor stadium that has carpet (heng not Rebound Ace). but it still doesnt bounce that much. but was a good workout today.

paid 100 sgd for a pair of tennis shoes! =(

next week when i go to Berlin i will have to save more $$.

Oh yah! im going Berlin next week! Monday to Thursday, then Copenhagen from Thursday to Sunday! =)

Off to cook! (been cooking A LOT A LOT A LOT). I'm in the kitchen almost everyday =)

2007-01-15T00:30:00.000+01:00

went to Ikea in Malmo yesterday and had swesih meatballs fix! the meatball meal has 15 meatballs, 1 salad, 1 soft drink, 1 coffee. all for 49 crowns! (about 12sgd). which is about fine. felt to full yesterday. =)

its been meeting people after people after people these few days! been quite tiring getting out of me comfort zone, but all's been great so far! =)

2007-01-15T00:15:00.000+01:00

Went to the International Church of Lund today. V small affair. like 20 people max. but was good. reminded me of church back home cos it's run by a methodist pastor! had call to worship.. hymns.. prayer.. sermon.. pretty much like things back home!

so was good.. met some NUS students who are from BP churches back home, so was good to have familiar looking faces in the service. cool thing is that they have coffee and cookies after the service! and everyone fellowships there. we should do that back home man....

the service was run at the attic of a 3 storey building.. then the coffee was on the 2nd floor. pretty cool stuff. =) I should be joining their bible study time fridays 7pm! (msg is quite short, 20mins only!)

miss the people back home! very windy today. almost got blown away =

2007-01-12T01:50:00.000+01:00

Finally in Lund! Reached yesterday but was just so tired to do anything. in fact is close to 2am today already! but decided to blog a bit.

1. It's cold (4-8 deg C)
2. It's windy
3. It's rainy

Quite a potent mix down here in the south of Sweden. so thanks for all the winter clothes people! need every single bit of it. I got Sparta hostel, which is like one of the cheapest ones you can find around here, so quite happy. I'm not too picky so common kitchen and common toilets are fine.

Everything is expensive here! Soups or Sandwiches will cost 8 - 10 SGD. urgh. But today was good! went to a fren's hostel (which looks like a studio apartment) and helped cooked up a feast for 9 people! Went home happy and satisfied after Teriyaki Chicken, Bak Kut Teh, PanFried Potatoes, Rice, and Beer! =)

Pics above are some shots of my room! its so cold here, i dont really want to take out my camera n take photos! n its tough pressing the button with gloves on. oh well. =) will try to post some nicer scenry ones soon.

time to sleep! update more tml!

2006-12-29T18:02:00.000+01:00

Praying for a childlike faith. ditching all the knowledge i have just to be dependent on what Jesus has done for me...

As I come into Your presence,

Past the gates of praise,

Into Your sanctuary

'Till we're standing face to face.

I look upon Your countenance,

And the fullness of Your grace,

I can only bow down and say;

You are awesome in this place, Mighty God;

You are awesome in this place, Abba Father!

You are worthy of all praise;

To you my life I raise,

You are awesome in this place, Mighty God.

2006-12-19T14:03:00.000+01:00

crazy holiday. had so much time to sleep n think. i think its bad for health that we go for such holidays. seriously nothing to do. yes, while i draw strength from being alone, i think i recharged so much that i just wanna release it all! NEED TO TALK TO PPL. urgh.

saw john williams at Bintan. zzz. cant escape from smu ehh.

was a good time of bonding though, with the family during this trip.

seriously started thinking too much during this trip.

rained so much that i didnt see much of the sun during Bintan - wrong season. zzz.

boat ride there was bad. felt pukey even after i've gone for SAIL trip etc. sianz.
Ride back was better.

2006-11-28T15:37:00.000+01:00

After my exams, i will change my skins, update me blogz, and get it all prepped up for my trip to sweden! =)

I HAFTA do it man! cannot slack. busy dec coming up...

Dad's sick.. really hope that its nothing serious.. & though i'm not in the best of conditions myself, i pray that as the blood of Jesus covers me, so too will the healing power of the Lord come unto Dad now.... ;'

2006-10-13T18:17:00.000+02:00

To the Moon and Back. Literally and Figuratively.

Michael Jackson & his Moonwalk, Floating.

A realm where gravitational force is nonexistent; nothing firm to stand upon.

Surreal, Surreal, Surreal.

Need to be pulled back to Earth.

2006-09-26T17:45:00.000+02:00

Today, really cried out to the Lord. First time in a long time i really did so in such a manner. I think it was the accumulation of all the pressures around me that just came crashing down today.

Class totally sucked cos I blanked out, and I started thinking about the same old issues again.. With the troublesome thems in my life, indecisiveness, wondering what I'm doing in finance classes, being fearful of what may come in Sweden, ministry pressures, just not trusting God enough, being so passive, hankering after knowledge and not wisdom, and dwelling on the things that should not be dwelled upon. All these, I simply committed unto the Lord, in the full sense of the Word. And what Aaron prayed for me at YMLC came up again - that in 10 years time, I can look back on my life and proclaim: only God could have done this!

Basically, I want to live life to the fullest for God, I want to go out there, meet people, interact with them, and be that testimony for God wherever I go! I don't want to be bogged down by what people think of me, and I want to rise up with boldness and courage! That's my prayer, O Lord!

I believe, in faith, that what God has said will come to past. I just want to obey. I pray against procrastination, against apathy, against indifference. Knowledge has gotten to me, and I have turned out proud whenever talking to others, when it is humility that the Lord demands of us! I now know that it is wisdom that is required of us, not knowledge; and that sometimes, it is better not to think you know more than the other, for that hinders the love you have for them.

Teach me to love in action and in truth! True understanding that when you love the people around you, the best way to show it is to talk to them and to spend time with them! That is true fellowship! Above all, teach me to love with wisdom too, for the caveat is that I may neglect the things that I hold dear to in life.

By no means am I a finished work, but I go in the faith that God still wants to mould me and use me wherever He calls. I will close today with a verse I gave someone yesterday:

Hear my prayer, O LORD;

listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to you,

for you will answer me.
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.

(Psalms 86:6-8)

May the Lord Bless Us and Keep Us Always...

2006-09-26T17:35:00.000+02:00

I guess I'm back in business! (once again)