"When I am afraid, I will trust in you."1
Fear is unquestionably a problem common to all. Somebody has said that there are 365 "fear nots" in the Bible—one for every day of the year!
Healthy fear is a God-given emotion. Without it we would get into all sorts of dangerous situations. We rightly fear, or should fear, driving through a red light or walking alone at night (or in broad daylight) in a dangerous area. If we don't, we're out of touch with reality.
The fears that give us problems are those that cause anxiety, sleepless nights, give us ulcers, cause us to fail in our relationships and in our work, etc., etc.
On the surface these fears may seem to be irrational. Usually they're not in the sense that they have their roots in past frightening or traumatic experiences. Even a dog, if it has been abused by a human in the past, will be afraid of humans. So will people.
So how do we overcome our fears?
First, like David, we need to trust in the Lord and seek his guidance to find the help we need to resolve our fears.
Second, if our fear is caused by a traumatic experience in childhood or in the past, very often skilled therapy is needed so the root cause can be resolved and trust restored.
Whether God heals us directly or through a counselor doesn't matter. The important thing is that we choose to trust God and ask him to give us the courage to face our fears-and lead us to the help we need to overcome them. As King David said, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you."
When I am afraid, I keep quoting David who also said, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do unto me?"2
May our trust be stronger than our doubts and our love greater than our fears—for the God who brought us this far will not desert us now.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
i'm taking a break from compiling and editting the slides for my group presentation this friday:) haha.
i dun like discrimination. i dun like racism. i dun like sexism. especially sexism. i dun like age-ism too. the idea that just because you're younger, you know less.
lol.
the holocaust is really scary :S
very saddening too. watched this video whereby it shows the release of the jews from the concentration camps... then the last part showed a machine just shovelling piles of human bodies down into the soil. damn sad.
it's as though humans are not worthwhile at all. no worth to human life.
the issue of the fragility of human life comes back to haunt us again and again.
during forensic science lecture, our lecturer showed us slides after slides of crimes, of testing of stains, and of human bodies. fragments, if i may say, of human bodies. lots and lots of them. especially what was shown in the tsunami photo. or bombings... whereby only the head, the body (without the limbs) and part of the hip is left.
the thing about us human beings is that we always choose to think that death is far away. it's not. i'm not being morbid or pessimistic here..but seriously, the question to ask (that i've been asked a few years ago), is the question of 'would you ever know today, that you are going to die tomorrow?'
and in dying. where do you go?
i dun like discrimination. i dun like racism. i dun like sexism. especially sexism. i dun like age-ism too. the idea that just because you're younger, you know less.
lol.
the holocaust is really scary :S
very saddening too. watched this video whereby it shows the release of the jews from the concentration camps... then the last part showed a machine just shovelling piles of human bodies down into the soil. damn sad.
it's as though humans are not worthwhile at all. no worth to human life.
the issue of the fragility of human life comes back to haunt us again and again.
during forensic science lecture, our lecturer showed us slides after slides of crimes, of testing of stains, and of human bodies. fragments, if i may say, of human bodies. lots and lots of them. especially what was shown in the tsunami photo. or bombings... whereby only the head, the body (without the limbs) and part of the hip is left.
the thing about us human beings is that we always choose to think that death is far away. it's not. i'm not being morbid or pessimistic here..but seriously, the question to ask (that i've been asked a few years ago), is the question of 'would you ever know today, that you are going to die tomorrow?'
and in dying. where do you go?
Sunday, October 15, 2006
i have lots of thoughts in my mind.. been having lots of whirling thoughts since last night. very bogged down by certain things. certain things which i don't understand (and still don't, and will never understand. haha). quite stupid hor, to think about things which you will never be able to fathom 'cos of my finite understanding.
i've never had grandparents. or rather, when i was born, only my grandmother was left in the world, and i can't pretty much remember her very well 'cos she died when i was in primary 2.
so i guess in a sense, i might not be able to fully understand the grief that comes when a family member is very ill or dies. i can only pray.
bothered by certain negative thoughts i have. hahaa. it's very stupid when you know they're negative thoughts, yet you're still bogged down by then.. 'cos looking at the situation, it seems as though the negative thoughts are right.
but God works for the best of those who love Him.
ah.
haha.
don't know why i always struggle with understanding.
understanding and the need to know. gracious. strength and weakness.
alamak.
i've never had grandparents. or rather, when i was born, only my grandmother was left in the world, and i can't pretty much remember her very well 'cos she died when i was in primary 2.
so i guess in a sense, i might not be able to fully understand the grief that comes when a family member is very ill or dies. i can only pray.
bothered by certain negative thoughts i have. hahaa. it's very stupid when you know they're negative thoughts, yet you're still bogged down by then.. 'cos looking at the situation, it seems as though the negative thoughts are right.
but God works for the best of those who love Him.
ah.
haha.
don't know why i always struggle with understanding.
understanding and the need to know. gracious. strength and weakness.
alamak.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
last week we had a new sister called aiwei =]
this week we have a new sister called zhichun =]
thank God for the two of them for taking the step of faith to receive Christ!
thank God for God for touching their hearts!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
last week we had a new sister called aiwei =]
this week we have a new sister called zhichun =]
thank God for the two of them for taking the step of faith to receive Christ!
thank God for God for touching their hearts!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Friday, October 13, 2006
marcus' blog has a picture of me and jit's newb party! HAHAHA. i can't save it from his blog. so i've gotta refer everyone else to his blog. so exciting. haha.
still remember that when i first knew that we're gonna be transferring to youth from pretertiary, i was the first one to cry :P then huichun cried. oops.
we transferred on the 30th of january if i'm not wrong. it's either 30th or the first week of february. and youth had a special service on that day. and that's the day i got my first followuppee. HAHAHA.
i missed pte terribly. heh. but now everyone's in different places, doing different things. some of the brothers and sisters are still here. some have left. and some are going from glory to glory.
same as the youth sisters and brothers. some have left. some are still here. and some are going from glory to glory.
3 years, 6 months, around 14 days and still counting :)
still remember that when i first knew that we're gonna be transferring to youth from pretertiary, i was the first one to cry :P then huichun cried. oops.
we transferred on the 30th of january if i'm not wrong. it's either 30th or the first week of february. and youth had a special service on that day. and that's the day i got my first followuppee. HAHAHA.
i missed pte terribly. heh. but now everyone's in different places, doing different things. some of the brothers and sisters are still here. some have left. and some are going from glory to glory.
same as the youth sisters and brothers. some have left. some are still here. and some are going from glory to glory.
3 years, 6 months, around 14 days and still counting :)
I am typing out a blogger post because i have become incapable of forming a professional sounding statement. i am doing my forensic science term paper which seems stuck at the first page and refuse to budge from there. it's 3.29am in the morning and i have my term paper to finish, as well as thinking up food for thoughts for my social psy project... which everyone has not finished either but no one seems to want to change the timing. i think i'm gonna be very stoned tmr at the project meeting (at 9am???) and very stoned for developmental psychology lecture too. which is actually quite a pity 'cos you need to be relatively alert for developmental psy lecture so that you can understand what's going on. yeah.
i am not exactly feeling very tired, but neither am i feeling very alert. i am in that drowsy state of mind whereby my brain is just working on automatic mode, barely enough for me to survive. at least my eyes are not burning. if they are, i'll feel like taking them out, dipping them in water, washing them, then putting them back in again. what a pity that we can't do that. will probably solve a lot of eye fatigue problems or whatnots.
as a followup from my previous post, i went for a swim. haha. saw this guy wearing a formal shirt and pants going into the swimming complex when i was about to go in. was quite intrigued 'cos i thought one'll probably be going for work rather than going for a swim in that type of clothes.
swimming was good. an overly friendly lifeguard scared me by happily suggesting that i put my bag in the smaller locker rather than the bigger one to save money. other than that, the weather is good, the water is blue and there's just one more free lane for me to use. haha. went into the water, stretched for like 10 seconds, then off i go.
first half lap was tiring. 'cos arms not used to flinging water out of my way once again, and arms felt tired after just a half lap. (from one side of the pool, across the length to another side, is considered as half a lap). yea. then i was resting for a while at the other side and peering around when i saw a couple kissing in the middle pool. faint. so i got diaoded slightly and went on with my swim.
it's slightly pressurizing swimming back to the side of the pool where the lifeguards are. 'cos they're constantly watching the pool, and sometimes you start to wonder if they're evaluating your swimming strokes as well. the spotlight effect. haha. then i was thinking if i can do a social psychology experiment on the pple in the pool in the future.. perhaps something abt awareness of lifeguards improving performance in water or something? the term 'real or imagined presence of others' kept coming to mind. it was lap after lap until 6.5 lap, when i took another rest. then going on to 10th lap... by then, the rhythm is there and you just keep going on and on and on and on and on. and on. and on.
hair got super tangly after swimming. and i forgot to bring shampoo. haha.
then it was lunch! or breakfast. haha.
i went home with the intention of repacking my bag to go to school. but i lay on my bed, took a deep breath in and happily fell asleep.
:)
-when the night has come
and the land is dark
and the moon is the only light we'll see
no i won't be afraid
no i won't be afraid
just as long as you stand
stand by me-
listening to vocaluptuous once again. hahaa. shall go and bathe to wake myself up.
good morning :)
i am not exactly feeling very tired, but neither am i feeling very alert. i am in that drowsy state of mind whereby my brain is just working on automatic mode, barely enough for me to survive. at least my eyes are not burning. if they are, i'll feel like taking them out, dipping them in water, washing them, then putting them back in again. what a pity that we can't do that. will probably solve a lot of eye fatigue problems or whatnots.
as a followup from my previous post, i went for a swim. haha. saw this guy wearing a formal shirt and pants going into the swimming complex when i was about to go in. was quite intrigued 'cos i thought one'll probably be going for work rather than going for a swim in that type of clothes.
swimming was good. an overly friendly lifeguard scared me by happily suggesting that i put my bag in the smaller locker rather than the bigger one to save money. other than that, the weather is good, the water is blue and there's just one more free lane for me to use. haha. went into the water, stretched for like 10 seconds, then off i go.
first half lap was tiring. 'cos arms not used to flinging water out of my way once again, and arms felt tired after just a half lap. (from one side of the pool, across the length to another side, is considered as half a lap). yea. then i was resting for a while at the other side and peering around when i saw a couple kissing in the middle pool. faint. so i got diaoded slightly and went on with my swim.
it's slightly pressurizing swimming back to the side of the pool where the lifeguards are. 'cos they're constantly watching the pool, and sometimes you start to wonder if they're evaluating your swimming strokes as well. the spotlight effect. haha. then i was thinking if i can do a social psychology experiment on the pple in the pool in the future.. perhaps something abt awareness of lifeguards improving performance in water or something? the term 'real or imagined presence of others' kept coming to mind. it was lap after lap until 6.5 lap, when i took another rest. then going on to 10th lap... by then, the rhythm is there and you just keep going on and on and on and on and on. and on. and on.
hair got super tangly after swimming. and i forgot to bring shampoo. haha.
then it was lunch! or breakfast. haha.
i went home with the intention of repacking my bag to go to school. but i lay on my bed, took a deep breath in and happily fell asleep.
:)
-when the night has come
and the land is dark
and the moon is the only light we'll see
no i won't be afraid
no i won't be afraid
just as long as you stand
stand by me-
listening to vocaluptuous once again. hahaa. shall go and bathe to wake myself up.
good morning :)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
for a few weeks now, swimming has been on my mind. first it was the 'obstacle' of not having goggles, which i happily obtained last week. then it's the task of finding a time to go swimming in the midst of the things to do. haha. been wanting to go in the morning but it seems as though my body will rather take that time to rest (the luxury of resting without waking up at 8am) than to wake up and take a bus to the pool, swim and return back.
wanted to swim this morning but didn't wake up. HAHAHA. so now it's the afternoon. and i have made up my mind to still go swimming though it's the afternoon. the sky's good to me. it's nice and cloudy, not too hot and just a nice weather to swim in. so exciting. swimming is exciting to me 'cos it's one of the few sports i'll rather be doing myself. and i enjoy it. haha.
wanted to swim this morning but didn't wake up. HAHAHA. so now it's the afternoon. and i have made up my mind to still go swimming though it's the afternoon. the sky's good to me. it's nice and cloudy, not too hot and just a nice weather to swim in. so exciting. swimming is exciting to me 'cos it's one of the few sports i'll rather be doing myself. and i enjoy it. haha.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
i can only imagine :)
these days i've been looking to the future and feeling tired. two things occupying my mind. future and fatigue. haha. my future is in God's hands 'cos He's already ahead of me in whatever situation i'm in. fatigue 'cos of the things to do. yet having an inward unbubbly excitement to see what're the exact events that'll lead to the future. i'm excited. i'm faithfilled. and i'm tired. haha. physically tired. not spiritually tired, but slightly weary.
amused and amazed at the workings of God in the caregroup. amused at the interesting ratio of sisters to brothers in the group and amazed at the pple God is sending in. and slightly apprehensive.. apprehensive of future problems. haha. the 3 months problem for nbs.
to always come back to the core of doing things. slight fear in not remembering that. haha.
these days i've been looking to the future and feeling tired. two things occupying my mind. future and fatigue. haha. my future is in God's hands 'cos He's already ahead of me in whatever situation i'm in. fatigue 'cos of the things to do. yet having an inward unbubbly excitement to see what're the exact events that'll lead to the future. i'm excited. i'm faithfilled. and i'm tired. haha. physically tired. not spiritually tired, but slightly weary.
amused and amazed at the workings of God in the caregroup. amused at the interesting ratio of sisters to brothers in the group and amazed at the pple God is sending in. and slightly apprehensive.. apprehensive of future problems. haha. the 3 months problem for nbs.
to always come back to the core of doing things. slight fear in not remembering that. haha.
Monday, October 09, 2006
"If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically."1
Marshall Field, quoted in "Predictions & Prescriptions" newsletter, gives twelve points to remember for successful living:
1. The value of time
2. The success of perseverance
3. The pleasure of working
4. The dignity of simplicity
5. The worth of character
6. The power of kindness
7. The influence of example
8. The obligation of duty
9. The wisdom of economy
10. The virtue of patience
11. The improvement of talent
12. The joy of originating
In a nutshell, the best advice for successful living: Be kind, be diligent, do good, model Christian living, and above all love one another. And over all the above, don't forget God.
Marshall Field, quoted in "Predictions & Prescriptions" newsletter, gives twelve points to remember for successful living:
1. The value of time
2. The success of perseverance
3. The pleasure of working
4. The dignity of simplicity
5. The worth of character
6. The power of kindness
7. The influence of example
8. The obligation of duty
9. The wisdom of economy
10. The virtue of patience
11. The improvement of talent
12. The joy of originating
In a nutshell, the best advice for successful living: Be kind, be diligent, do good, model Christian living, and above all love one another. And over all the above, don't forget God.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Monday, October 02, 2006
Seeing that this week is term paper cum term testS (for emphasis) week, i've decided to get more lighthearted stuff from the esplanade library! haha.
Catalouge for this week (DVDs):
1) The Sword in the stone (cartoon)
2) The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (cartoon)
3) Matilda (not cartoon:D)
as to why i only have 3 DVDs, it's 'cos of the fact that i left the disc of The Age of Innocence in my laptop and returned the DVD without the disc. HAHAHA. oh well. now i've got an one day fine. sadness :(
Catalouge for this week (DVDs):
1) The Sword in the stone (cartoon)
2) The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (cartoon)
3) Matilda (not cartoon:D)
as to why i only have 3 DVDs, it's 'cos of the fact that i left the disc of The Age of Innocence in my laptop and returned the DVD without the disc. HAHAHA. oh well. now i've got an one day fine. sadness :(
Pastor Dinah recalled for us a very fundamental and important truth today:) That the key to unity is SELF. dying to self.
it's a very basic concept... yet one that is once again, easy to say, but hard to do. in the world where people puts themselves over other things, it's hard, really, to die to yourself.. people have the tendency to want things done THEIR way, and when things ain't done THEIR way, they're blinded by their 'self righteousness' and that's when emotions start to get stirred up, that's when disunity happens. it's hard to die to self 'cos dying to self means for us to lay our pride aside. and seriously speaking, won't most people, if not everyone, naturally want to hold on to that pride inside us? even when somehow or another, we know that it's wrong to be proud? for some people, they might not even realize that they've pride in their hearts.
humility is so much to the key to being successful in life. being humble enough to want to change. humble enough to learn from everyone around you, for there's always room for growth. humility is like a value that's not highly regarded in the world anymore... viewed as a sign of weakness. it's as if being humble will cause you to lose out in the world. should we then say that the world is right in this? no. for if that's how things are intended to be, if the world is doing the right things in general, then WHY is this world, for the lack of words, so screwed up?:)
ah. i digress:)
Was really refreshed today by pastor ben and pastor dinah's sharings:) so much on the core values... the SIMPLE core values... yet so important. as we grow in our spiritual walk with God, and even as we grow as a human being in the world, so much of the core values we've laid aside for the peripheral... we've become so concerned with the doing on the outside, that we've forgotten to evaluate what's on the inside of us. i remember alan asking this question... if one day, everything we have (our deeds, characters...) is put into a bowl and put under the testing of fire... will we still have anything left in the bowl?
i asked myself. what will be in the bowl. what sort of things will be in the bowl? the character of the person? the things i've done? volunteer work? i don't have an answer... haha. sorry about it. but i can only figure out that what is left in the bowl has to be something that withstands the test of time, till eternity. that withstands the test of man, without fault. withstand the test of deeds, beyond self.
think this is a question we can all ask ourselves, for an honest evaluation of ourselves thus far. is there anything in my life which can last till eternity, is blameless and without fault and is greater than myself?
i wonder.
it's a very basic concept... yet one that is once again, easy to say, but hard to do. in the world where people puts themselves over other things, it's hard, really, to die to yourself.. people have the tendency to want things done THEIR way, and when things ain't done THEIR way, they're blinded by their 'self righteousness' and that's when emotions start to get stirred up, that's when disunity happens. it's hard to die to self 'cos dying to self means for us to lay our pride aside. and seriously speaking, won't most people, if not everyone, naturally want to hold on to that pride inside us? even when somehow or another, we know that it's wrong to be proud? for some people, they might not even realize that they've pride in their hearts.
humility is so much to the key to being successful in life. being humble enough to want to change. humble enough to learn from everyone around you, for there's always room for growth. humility is like a value that's not highly regarded in the world anymore... viewed as a sign of weakness. it's as if being humble will cause you to lose out in the world. should we then say that the world is right in this? no. for if that's how things are intended to be, if the world is doing the right things in general, then WHY is this world, for the lack of words, so screwed up?:)
ah. i digress:)
Was really refreshed today by pastor ben and pastor dinah's sharings:) so much on the core values... the SIMPLE core values... yet so important. as we grow in our spiritual walk with God, and even as we grow as a human being in the world, so much of the core values we've laid aside for the peripheral... we've become so concerned with the doing on the outside, that we've forgotten to evaluate what's on the inside of us. i remember alan asking this question... if one day, everything we have (our deeds, characters...) is put into a bowl and put under the testing of fire... will we still have anything left in the bowl?
i asked myself. what will be in the bowl. what sort of things will be in the bowl? the character of the person? the things i've done? volunteer work? i don't have an answer... haha. sorry about it. but i can only figure out that what is left in the bowl has to be something that withstands the test of time, till eternity. that withstands the test of man, without fault. withstand the test of deeds, beyond self.
think this is a question we can all ask ourselves, for an honest evaluation of ourselves thus far. is there anything in my life which can last till eternity, is blameless and without fault and is greater than myself?
i wonder.