mercies in disguise

What if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise...

For good =)

For Good

(Elphaba) I'm limited
Just look at me - I'm limited
And just look at you
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda
So now it's up to you
For both of us - now it's up to you...

(Glinda) I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

(Elphaba) It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

(Glinda) Because I knew you

(Both) I have been changed for good

(Elphaba) And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the thing I've done you blame me for

(Glinda) But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

(Both) And none of it seems to matter anymore

(Glinda) Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

(Elphaba) Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

(Both) Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

(Glinda) And because I knew you...

(Elphaba) Because I knew you...

(Both) Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good.

Not now

"If you ever have any free time and you're wondering, "What in the world am I going to do now?" don't go to my blog. Have extended devotions, or read some good book on our Savior, or serve your family. And once you've done that, come and visit my blog."

-Quoted from an article

I can't deny that I am not as disciplined as I wish to be. I don't know why it's so hard to do the things that matter FIRST before secondary priorities. I have tasted the bitterness of procrastination and I want tonight to be the last of my old disease, God help me.

Exam on the 10th & 14th of June. And besides this, so many books to be read, relationships to maintain, devotion to commit. These postings in front of the 18.5" screen is only a tiny fraction of a beautiful picture when I get down on my knees and stand on my feet.

Nelson

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech

Your grace is enough..

Your grace is enough..

Joke

"How do you discern God's will?"

"Oh, Lord. People have suggested all kinds of methods to me."

"Like what?"

"When I was in high school, my uncle told me that whenever he needed to know God's will, he opened the Bible at random, read the first verse that met his eyes, then did whatever it told him."

"So you tried it?"

"Don't laugh. At first it seemed to work. One time I asked God whether I should go out with this really pretty girl named Melissa. When I opened the Bible, the first verse that met my eye was Proverbs 6:25, 'Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.' So I asked, 'Then whoshould I go out with?' This time when I opened the Bible, the first verse that met my eye was Isaiah 55:12, 'You shall go out with joy.' So I asked out Joy."

"You shouldn't have asked me not to laugh. What opened your eyes?"

"Two things. First, Joy said no."

"What was the other?"

"Well," said Mark, "one day I happened to ask that same uncle why he'd taken up cigarettes. He said 'God told me to smoke.' First he'd opened the Bible at random and read the 1 Corinthians 6:19, 'Do you not know that your body is a temple ... ?' Then he'd opened it again and read Revelations 15:8, 'The temple was filled with smoke.'"

Five Things Every Adult Should Know

Came across this article that talks about adulthood and references to the book Adam’s Return by Richard Rohr in a talk he gave called "Five Things Every Adult Should Know." Rohr's list of five promises that define true adulthood is what he says gives a person the ability to live in the world as a grown up.

The promises include:

1. Life is hard.
2. You are not that important.
3. Your life is not about you.
4. You’re not in control.
5. You’re going to die.

And.. which of these promises are the hardest for you to digest?

If only it were as easy as drums

If only life's issues were as easy as understanding the complexity of drums.. wishful thinking~

Inner Bloom

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

- 1 Cor 13:11

Are you like me, at times feeling like an adolescent stuck in a maturing body. Or have you ever felt like years have passed but you are still the same old, or same young. I used to think and believe that as soon as adulthood steps in, nature's magical wand would swing its magic, and we would grow up to be mature adults who can face the world, brace its tide, and take care of ourselves well enough to extend to others. I was wrong.

I could get caught on the other side of the cloud only, getting more work experience, expanding the working & social capacity, manage work & people so well, having a good laugh on the familiar side of successful people; and upon reaching middle age, came crashing down. The tide of world seems to favour external growth towards the stars, but God may be whispering, the inside counts. Go deeper.

"When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me"

Not an act of nature or by-product of time & environment only, but a verb: "put behind me". Place aside the childish self-serving thoughts & idealisms. Stop whining, don't extend adolescence & excuses. Rise up above culture, not about being Mr Sensitive or Mr Man, but looking towards Jesus as the primary model, where true fulfillment comes in the form of godliness.

Yet not giant leaps, but simple little steps everyday; sowing seeds of patience, diligence, wisdom, kindness, love, sacrifice; surrendering & allowing God to mold us, we find ourselves becoming man - man of God.

New look

maybe for me, it takes a 13-yr old blind boy to teach me how to appreciate what i have in life..

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Eze 36:24-27

26 summers

While posting this song, thought that would be good to write some stuffs before i go to bed. today is a pretty juiced-up day, because this other dept tai-chi with each other when i ask for reports. so stressful & get called in to the GM's office again to help provide info.

and after the long day at nearly 8pm, went to church for counseling course. i will always appreciate the vast difference from work environment. hee.. sis lydia plyed the video of a tv real-time counseling of this internet-addicted teens with his mom, the girlfriend etc.. it's so interesting and the twists are better than most soaps, happy ending by the way. how nice if i can be a counselor for a change rather than punching numbers in my head everyday, but then, important to do what God has given me.. to be a good number-crunching, problem-solving, effective managing person.. still a long way to go especially in managing situations & inheriting the knack for solving case-by-case problems that arises. and still learning to face problems without pulling my hair out, and not thinking of all problems at the same time and have a mental meltdown.

it is well. oh ya... it isz well..

I am 26 this year. And I found a "26" song for myself! =D

song not found in youtube though, enjoy the lyrics =)

Twenty Six Summers

by Vicky Beeching

I don’t know what the future holds
or what lies beyond my horizon
the years ahead are just out of sight
well, i think sometimes that You hide them
so that i’ll walk by faith not sight
so i’ll take Your hand, holding tight

through twenty-six summers
and twenty-six winters
i’ve laughed in the springtime
i’ve cried in the rain
though i’ve questioned the meaning
of some of life’s seasons
it’s true that they’ve left me holding on
tighter to You

my one desire for the road ahead
is that we would walk it together
Friend and King, You’re my everything
may i stay by Your side forever
for when my heart’s afraid, You’re near
whispering to my soul, ‘don’t fear’

and i will trust in You alone
for You’re the hand leading me home
leading me home..

i’ve spent twenty-six summers
and twenty-six winters with You
through all of the seasons
and my search for reasons
You’ve carried me through
i will keep holding on to You…”

buying things for myself, for the 1st time in 2011

Yesterday (sat) was quite tiring, slept 3 hrs after long chat with sis & have to wake up - to show up for work. After work I decided that this day would be an exception, I will buy things for myself, for the 1st time this year.

I realised I never buy things for myself; new clothes come from Birthday gifts (no new clothes during CNY), hypermarket - to pick up groceries & hang thoughts (yeah, like hanging clothes, in a way); my old clothes, as long as they weren't qualified to be floor mat, would be my favourite suit. My room - bro's SPM chair, rusty table from nowhere. My Samsonite work bag, given by ex-company's associate director, not as a gift but leftover. My favourite sling bag's (my only sling bag also) "metal holder" just broke last night too, after about 4-5 yrs use, i think.

Funnily, i'm not thrifty & i'm far from looking for gifts. Just that i don't find it remotely amazing to get many new stuff, or to look good. I just get what I need

, and yesterday i needed an exception.

So I went to Jusco Tebrau, got myself 3 good books and a deco 'flower pail' (for the office desk), and the urge to make an exception stopped.

First book

2nd book

the flower pail..

3rd book..

Hope i smell the roses more..

and that's how it will look if my blog is viewed in "mosaic"

still, not.

the sea is blue, the greens are green. stay still? not, says the world that surrounds. they urge, be fast, be proud and very efficient. for?

looming questions, i find myself asking- or would it be, whither go you?

whether it is.. withering in the wide path or blooming in the narrow streets, if i am lucky to see the difference.

there's no hard & fast I thought so. Slow I am to your response, demand. Understands me not. And left is, mighty arm upholding the withering in the hopeless heights. the, always. can you see, he asks. still, not. i am, am i not, or else. A flower? No, my dear. The flower.

new look for web browser, happy~

A long forgotten Bday wish

That you will always be well. No longer are the breath of a thousand wishes, the quick tear, and the long goodbye.

For the hands of the everlasting are faithful for all of our hearts..

Trust, and lean not on my own understanding.


*And as a sign of this milestone, i'll change this old user pic.. no longer have to hope to run away..



and please do..

Priorities

Lord, help me focus on my weekday priorities...

1. TAWG
2. Family
3. Studies
4. Work
5. Relationships

And fulfill my grandmother's wish someday soon, hopefully before she passes on..



For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

~Colossians 1:9-12

失明前我想记得的四十七件事

Tree

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

~ Jer 17:7-8

Ordinary

Everybody doing their part for the world..

It's all about you

Raison d’être..