-And everything within me cries
'Adore adore adore
Jesus I adore You'-

I'm so sleepy. woke up at 8am and got out of house at 8.07am. record time of going to the toilet, brushing my teeth, changing, packing, combing my hair, opening the doors and going out. lol.
In this exam period, NUSA has a 'YOU' ministry.. and apparently their slogan is 'it's all about you!' haha. so funny. their first activity was to have the angel/mortal game. each of us had to randomly pick one love and one joy mortal to bless and encourage and each of us have one love and joy angel to encourage us as well. haha. My love and joy angels have been relatively amusing people=)
My joy angel started blessing me first. First he gave me chillified tapioca chips, then he gave me kinder bueno. lol. quite sweet to give me food.. whahha. My love angel gave me a mango she took back from her own mango tree. WHAHA.
Quite encouraged and quite nice to have angels and mortals in this time of exams. reminds us that exams ain't the only thing in the world ('cos people tend to be overwhelemed by exams during this period and choose to coop themselves up)... to look outwards and upwards rather than always looking inwards :) 'cos ultimately, for the rest of our lives, results ain't gonna determine the quality of our life much :)

You are my hero - Dennis Jernigan

I've seen you stand alone and face the fight
When others laid their weapons down
And headed for home
I've seen you face the fire and come out shining like gold,
And I want you to know...
I've seen you lay visions down for someone else
And give your life as a sacrifice, no fanfare around!
I've watched you weather storms that would have left others
drowned,
And this is what I've found:

You are my hero, my knight in shining armor
A warrior of God's grace, standing alone faithfully!
You are my hero, a light that pierces darkness
With love that's not afraid to fight for someone like me,
Encouraging me to stand firm and free!
You are my hero!

I've seen you look down the road and see beyond
The miles and head for truth in faith while bearing a load
I've heard your anguished cries for grace and watched joy
unfold,
And I want you to know:

You are my hero, my knight in shining armor
A warrior of God's grace, standing alone faithfully!
You are my hero, a light that pierces darkness
With love that's not afraid to fight for someone like me,
Encouraging me to stand firm and free!
You are my hero!

I've seen you face death with a deep burning faith
That stirs up the passion in me!
Your heart, like a fire, abounding in grace,
A beacon helping others to see; help set me free

For entertainment purposes, go to here xD

Contrary to popular belief, there has been no study supporting the 11pm-2am critical sleeping time rule. i don't how or why people came up with it... haha. strange sia.
The key to good and fruitful sleep lies in sleeping enough and according to ur inner circadian pattern. all of us have a circadian pattern.. which explains why all of us feel sleepy at different times during the day, as well as feel sleepy at different times in the night. We should actually go to sleep when our drowsiness takes a deep dip... 'cos that's the body signifying to us that it's the natural time to sleep. For myself, this deep dip comes at 1.30-2am.
If you find yourself tossing and turning on bed, with thoughts racing through your mind, you're recommended to sleep 3-6 hours later because YOU ARE SLEEPING TOO EARLY.
if however, you find yourself sleeping for a sufficient number of hours, yet still feel tired throughout the day, you should try going to sleep 3-6 hours earlier. the key to this is once again, know your own body. find the optimum time to sleep and you'll produce greater fruit in the day.
and please sleep at least 4 hrs or so.. you NEED the REM sleep.
for cited studies, go search yourself. i'm lazy to state it here.

As for today, xinying:

1) Is relatively caught up in japanese manga and anime (mainly works by CLAMP, e.g. xxxHOLIC, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and Death Note)

2) Is infatuated with Mokona! :D :D :D oh my lovely dearie mokona. how delightful are thy colours (one black, one white) how adoring is thy speech (e.g. puuuu~) how beautiful are thy eyes (two happy slits unless something happens XD --- if u wanna see a picture of the lovelie mokona, just type in mokona in google and go to images!)

3) Is supposed to finish a psychological scientific report by today 'cos tmr she is packed from 11am-10pm. xD

4) Has gone through a few emotional trials and testings.

5) Is thinking about how to build people up. People in her student ministry and people in her events finance ministry.

6) Was reminded of several fundamental truths which she kinda lost sight of earlier on due to too much focus on certain things. And she's glad she got reminded of the fundamentals =D

7) Is thinking of whether to really have a 21st birthday celebration. hmmm...

WHEN MUSTARD MET HONEY

Dijon mustard is sophisticated and a bit snooty. Honey is sweet and wild. Sparks fly when they meet... it's love at first sight. Honey mellows and softens mustard's sharp edge. Yes, we know, we're talking about potato chips here. But take a bite of these sweet, savory lovelies and you just might get obsessed. We are.
---------------------------------------------
I'm obsessed with these chips too! =D given to me by shuyi today, they brightened up my day:D of course, shuyi's thoughtful gesture brightened up my day much too! haha. 'cos today is a day with gloomy skies... and the 'chance' to walk from engine lt7 to HQ ... TWICE.
not forgetting the various smses and calls that came in from 8am onwards:S haha.

thanks shuyi!:D
and thank You God for sending shuyi with those lovelies! :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4682801.stm

: "Video games are always used as a scapegoat for concerns." (And i feel it's not just violence, but all kinds of concerns:P E.g. studies :P

http://fun.families.com/blog/the-benefits-of-games-for-children-and-a

: "The use of games for children and adults alike are a great way to improve a great number of mental and physical skills, and often bring with them a lot of significant benefits. Games have a far greater educational influence than most people are aware of." (I agree.)

http://giftedkids.about.com/od/booksandtoys/qt/videogames_tip.htm

: "One benefit of playing video games is that they teach strategy and decision-making skills, which are important skills to have in today's competitive world."
---------------

it's not the action of playing games that's bad. To me, playing games is a time whereby i exercise another part of my brain... especially the part where it deals with systematic solving...
it's the action of OVERPLAYING that's bad.
so next time you see me playing games, don't keep 'tsktsk-ing' at me. it's terribly annoying. and it just shows a lack of understanding and trust of the person i am.
Games are more important to me than just entertainment.

"For we are all members of one body."1

Xvxn though this typxwritxr is an old modxl, it works vxry wxll, xxcxpt for onx kxy. You'd think that with all thx othhxr kxys working, onx kxy would hardly bx noticxd. But just onx kxy out of whack sxxms to ruin thx wholx xffort.

Havx you xvxr said to yoursxlf, "I'm only onx pxrson. No onx will noticx if I don't do my bxst."

But it doxs makx a diffxrxncx, bxcausx to bx xffxctivx, a family, an organization, a church or a businxss nxxds complxtx participation by evxryonx to thx bxst of his or hxr ability.

So if you'rx having onx of thosx days whxn you think you just arxn't vxry important, and you'rx txmptxd to slack off, rxmxmbxr this old typxwritxr. You arx a kxy pxrson, and whxn you don't do your bxst, nothing xlsx around you works out thx way it is supposxd to.

-You got me dancing
and now i'm shouting
You got me leaping
and now i'm spinning Hallelujah
You're so good to me
So good to me
You're so good to me!-

in the aftermath of feeling irritated by small things that poked at me since morning. MULTIPLE small things that poked at me xD so exciting. hur.hur.

-Oh God You've been so good to me
everyday i wake up i breathe another breath of Your mercy-

[ haha. thank you for showing concern :) ]

do not use an accusatory voice when you want to correct someone. for if you do so, you'll only provoke the person. and if the person is not self-aware, you'll be leading the person to sin instead.
we correct in love. we correct to build the person up.
not to shift blame.
for by using an accusatory tone, what's the difference between a correction between sisters and brothers and the worldly correction?:P

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."

A four-hundred-year-old tree crashed to the forest floor. Over the centuries it had been struck by lightning fourteen times, braved great windstorms, and even defied an earthquake. In the end, however, it was killed by little beetles. Boring under the bark, they chewed away its mighty fibers until the giant of the forest lay broken on the ground.

Little things can either make us or break us. A little lie, a little theft, a little laziness, a little neglect, a little drink a little too often, a little sarcasm, a little denial here and a little there ... bit by bit we can add them all together and eventually hurt or destroy our relationships, our physical and/or mental health, and our walk with God.

On the other hand, a little smile, a little deed of kindness, a little encouraging word, a little thoughtful gift, a little phone call, a little bit of love given a lot of times every day can add up to a whole lot of sunshine that we can spread wherever we are and go—and in so doing encourage others, enhance our relationships, improve our physical and mental health, and please the heart of God.

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?"1

Today's Daily Encounter Lego illustration is by Steve Klusmeyer who writes:

"Life might be less complicated for all of us if we each received our own LEGO kit at birth. Yes, I realize there is a choking hazard for children under three. But when you are old enough, you can learn a lot from LEGOs. I have learned that:

"Size doesn't matter. When stepped on in the dark, a 2X2 LEGO brick causes the same amount of pain as a 2X8 brick.

"All LEGO men are created equal (1.5625 inches tall). What they become is limited only by imagination.

"There is strength in numbers. When the bricks stick together, great things can be accomplished.

"Playtime is important. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you are building, as long as you're having fun.

"Disaster happens. But the pieces can be put back together again.

"Every brick has a purpose. Some are made for a specific spot—most can adapt almost anywhere—but every one will fit somewhere.

"Color doesn't matter. A blue brick will fit in the same space as a red brick.

"No one is indispensable. If one brick is unavailable, another can take its place.

"It doesn't always turn out as planned. Sometimes it turns out better. If it doesn't, you can always try again."

-----------------
there're a lot of things i still dun understand:)
lack of understanding really does impede a lot of things. e.g. the relief in emotions, the soothing of soul, the unravelling of threads of thoughts.

-my tears gone cold i'm wondering why i
got out of bed at all
the morning rain clouds up my window
and i can't see at all
but even if i could it'll all be gray
but your picture on my wall
it reminds me that it's not so bad
it's not so bad-

-i'm living for the beauty of Your presence-

you should never tell someone something that's not confirmed. especially if it's a vision or the fulfillment of a hope. you can inspire, and suggest... but never give an estimated dateline. 'cos when the person has seized the vision as her own, waiting quietly for the day whereby it'll be fulfilled, and then realized that it won't happen, the hope crumbles. and everything else based on that hope crumbles as well.

-when You said seek Your face
my heart said Your face i will seek-

the sudden void at the ending... everything done leading to that void..

-holy worthy is the Lord
heaven declares Your righteousness-

it's a lesson learnt that only God's Word is the absolute truth. and only God's vision will truly come to pass.

-God of all creation, i worship You-

Saturate me - Mandy Moore

The desert I wander lacks in its mirage
There's no mistaking in the barrage
Of sand and wind that tears my skin
Leaving what's without exposing what's within

Forsaken, left here
In my barren desolate...

My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Rain down on me with life
My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Storm around me, bring the tide

My days stretch long into the heat
As the sun brightens my defeat
My lips are chapped, they're parched and dry
My thirst it builds, with every day gone by....

Forsaken, left here
In my barren desolate...

My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Rain down on me with life
My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Storm around me, bring the tide

The dunes that shift, drift and lift in the wind
Cover up my Hope, as I start to give in
To the cracks and creases and the dips in my will
As I am pushed toward the brink, I drink down and swill

My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Rain down on me with life
My soul is evaporating
Won't you saturate me, won't you saturate me
Storm around me, bring the tide