Not a diary but my sharing..

Can't believe this is still around!!!

2007-07-20T22:02:00.000+08:00

Haha, for those who missed it, check this out http://www.bigdaystudio.com/lichuan/
:)

Of weddings and funerals

2007-05-14T23:23:00.000+08:00

life's been a bit of a whirlwind for LHL and I these days, what with things at work and church coming down big time on us heh. Well, to start things off, after months and deliberation and discussions, it is official that PUNJ and TNYF are MERGING!!! :) The name's not really settled yet, but tentatively the name's STAR, which stands for STudents are ARpc - hence STAR. It's definitely interesting in some way and has its biblical groundings. However, I do also think it's not extremely catchy or hip-sounding for the youths and young adults. Well, hopefully we can come up with a better one, one that can help in the identity-building of the combined group, apart from the main and most important foundation of Christ which they are built on (but of course!)

Well to clarify the issue on my old car, to which many have asked me about after my last posting, it had to go because it was almost 5 years old and the depreciation of its value was increasing as the years go by. Having done our math, LHL and I thought it would be a wiser and more economical decision to scrap the old car, top up by a little for a new car that can hopefully last us quite awhile. And to that end, we've got ourselves a nice nifty Subaru Impreza station-wagon that was not only easier on the pockets but also designed for long-term usage especially should additions be made to our little family in the future (nowhere near for now!! :P) The new car came a couple of weeks ago, as some of you might know, and it's serving us pretty well now, though it's a bit more fuel-guzzling than our previous car, and that hurts our pocket a wee bit more, and more so LHL's environmentally-conscious heart (which has alot of its basis on her other, less well-known environmental science degree heh!!!)

Tis' truly the season for weddings, and till date, LHL and I've received at least 12-15 wedding invitations, and that makes more than 1 wedding per month! Isn't that wonderful? Guess while attending weddings is financially painful sometimes, but we love weddings, not only because they are generally such wonderful and joyous occasions but also because of the opportunities it provides for old friends and classmates to have mini-reunions! These normally begin with the customary "long-time no see, how have you been doing and where do you work", and end off often with "let's keep in touch", which is very true most of the time at that point but subsequently difficult in maintaining.

At the same time, we've been attending as many funerals, and truly the frequency of such funerals has been increasing, whether it's for loved ones of friends, friends or loved ones. The painful thing is the reality of how close death is to all of us, and how unexpected it can be. It truly is the single greatest equalizer of life, with taxes coming a close second (especially with the GST hike!) This often painfully also brings across the urgency of knowing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, something I feel I have been sadly failing in. Death really is an inescapable reality to us, and it really makes you stop to think of your own fragility and uncertainty of life and the certainty of death. And it makes you wonder whether there really is any meaning in life, and what happens after death. What is the point of living life so much to the fullest but for oneself and the moment's pleasure? The futility of living for oneself is something that over the years I have come to appreciate more and more. As a Christian, it is and has become even clearer to me why things must happen in a certain manner, but at the same time makes me feel so motivated to share the gospel of Jesus more with loved ones and friends who do not know Him. For truly, our lives which has been redeemed by the giving of our Lord Jesus til death on the Cross cannot be lived for oneself, but it must mean a denial of ourselves to live for God and His glory, acknowledging His Sovereignty in our lives, in the good and the bad.

Word for the day is "antithesis" - direct contrast, opposition, the direct or exact opposite.
That's pretty to understand - the antithesis of love is hatred, tall is to short, and GST is to welfare for the poor.

My ex-car...gone but not forgotten...

2007-04-18T23:29:00.000+08:00

Some pictures of my beautiful first car - my first love (car-wise..)

Well, she was scrapped 2 days ago... i almost teared when i last bid her goodbye when my wife drove her, ferrying me to the MRT station to work. Took a couple of last pics.. She served me faithfully for close to 5 years, bringing me to all ends of Singapore.

Never knew one could develop affections of this nature and extent for an inanimate object as one would for another person...

Thankfulness

2007-03-21T23:45:00.000+08:00

Life has really thankfully been settling into a routine now. LHL and myself are now living in Bishan, in our own little place and basically trying to shape our lives together. It's been quite a journey so far - dealing with loving and wonderful parents who nonetheless have quite some adjusting to do with not having us around all the time. This is so especially for my parents who're used to having me around most of the time and always there for them. Not that I'm not now, but more so that I'm not completely that accessible right now. And my great sense of responsibility and duty to them still remains too, and I struggle a lot with that.

So LHLand I try now to go back at least once, if not twice, to my parents place for a meal and to spend some time together. It really helps that our dog Obi is there now, providing alot of company and keeping my parents occupied. He's really been wonderful to them, amazing gentle and tame around my parents where normally with us, he's the perpetual attention-deficit disorder golden retriever (monkey, really, no offence to monkeys meant).

But well, going back to routines, we spend most mondays back home for dinner, tues dinners with my parents (where possible), wed to meet friends or to have our own dinner, thurs for bible studies and fridays are the designated "date" nights for us.
Sat's normally spent with my good buddy robin running in the morning, lunches flexible, and afternoons spent trying to either run errands for the house or napping, and dinners with friends and nights spent preparing bible studies for punj the next day.

Sundays are basically spent going to church, bible studies and stuff.. by the end of the weekend, we're pretty tired out already.. not that much rest too actually, quite packed full of activities. It can be, and is quite tiring. But the good thing about a routine is that at least mentally we don't have to tire ourselves out wondering how to most effectively utilise our time. However, I'm not quite sure how long we can keep this going actually - LHL and myself have been feeling bit worn out fairly often now. But for now, it'll have to remain this way.

But I have to say also that during this time, I've grown alot in understanding at a deeper level what I already know about ministry, fellowship, accountability and humility before God. LHL has been an amazing life and gospel partner, reminding, supporting, at times slightly rebuking, but always loving and encouraging me to live a life that seeks glorify God and not myself. It is not always easy for a control freak and popularity-hungry dude like myself to keep putting God first ahead of all things, especially where glory and recognition is concerned. But truly a big encouragement apart from merely knowing the Word, is having a God-centred relationship and a wife who loves God equally, if not more. And everytime I am reminded of this, I am reminded also of how much I am privileged that God has blessed me graciously and plenty with this wonderful lady in my life. Some might think it is a honeymoon period still of the marriage - which undeniably it still is. But a true understanding of Scripture would reveal that truly that should be the way a God-centred marriage and relationship should work out, and one that I hope you, the reader of this, would continue to pray for us for.

Word for the day is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: "used as a nonsense word by children to express approval or to represent the longest word in English."
As adapted from Mary Poppins - haha bet you never knew the symbolic representation of the longest word in English! It's supposed to be an adjective - trouble is, how do you ever use it that way? Ok, my first try:

"It's a terribly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious manner to express a long word, but you never know the things people come up with nowadays..."

2007-03-04T00:34:00.000+08:00

My sis and I...she was an adorable little girl, wasn't she? Brings back lovely memories..

My name's LC and I'm a workaholic...

2007-03-04T00:15:00.000+08:00

Sitting next to LHL while she's busy typing away at her work, while i'm trying hard to ignore my work and hoping to push it till tomorrow, yet at the same time trying to keep her company..

Today, a really good brother of mine whom i'm very fond of told me that he's bit afraid of asking to meet up, coz i'm so busy. It's not the first time someone close to me has said that..it leaves me with a very bitter taste in my mouth: have i made myself so busy that i've neglected what's clearly important?

As much as I always seek to set time aside for ministry and really serving God in whatever way I can, i realise that the way i treat it is and can be dangerously close to work - in a very task-focused, perfectionist manner, just that of coz i see ministry as more important and infinitely more privileged a task. But have i neglected the relational aspect of it? At the end of the day, ministry is all about relationships. Clearly, the bible speaks of our salvation as a renewed relationship with God as people justified by His son, and so too our relationship with one another as members of the body of Christ, as His people and His church, as brothers and sisters in Christ. My overwhelming desire to be the perfect role-model full-time christian/lawyer, where i want to have my cake and eat it, creates blinders beside my eyes, where i can only see the job at hand and a drive to make sure it's done and done well. I get emotionally tired and drained most of the time, leaving me with precious little emotionally and relationally to LHL, my family, my brothers and sisters in christ, and just about everyone else including the tissue-selling auntie at the MRT station.

I am a workaholic. I do admit that. To get me out of the office promptly at 6pm is akin to asking me to put my head in the toilet and giving it a good full flush - an insult to my honour and work ethics. It's a fine line being a good and faithful worker as a testimony to God and glorifying Him through good modelling, and that of a workaholic. Have I been justifying my chronic workaholism too much under the guise of being a good role model??

Well..something to think about I suppose. I din't plan on penning a new post so soon after my previous one, in a bid to pace myself and not burn out, but I guess this incident has really prompted me to think very long and hard about myself.

I'm back!!!

2007-03-01T00:09:00.000+08:00

The wait is over.... the long anticipated return of me!!!

Well, if you have been faithfully checking my blog out, i'm so sorry to have disappointed you for so long, but ever since sept, my life was a constant whirlwind of activities with renovations, wedding preparations and exams. When the exams were finally over, i could hardly believe it, and that i was going to be married in a matter of hours!! But praise be to God for really pushing me through all these and I'm back, alive and kicking!!

Well, just to update all of you, after my wedding on the 9-10th Dec, I was in kiwiland for 2 weeks, enjoying a much-deserved and wonderful honeymoon which was amazing! Not only was it a welcomed break, but it was also my first time travelling with LHL!! Amazing, and it also really was a journey of understanding each other better, getting used to living together and seeing each other ad nauseum.

Returning home on 26 Dec after Christmas, we were both busy moving into our little flat in Bishan, furnishing it and getting used to a life together, setting into a routine. To add to things, I started my pupilage with a firm but decided to move to another firm, for which I am super grateful to God for. Now, we've more or less settled into a routine of home, church, work, bible study, parents and friends. Well, of coz not in that order, but then again, all are competing things for our attention, for which we are not that adept at juggling still.

For those raring to know bit more about our wedding, marriage life and other 1001 things happening in our lives, stay tuned for I will go through it bit by bit with you, revealing facets and nuggets of what's been going on. So stay tuned! But well, it suffices for now to reveal, surprise surprise, that marriage is alot of work! It's alot of effort, alot of commitment, alot of grace, patience, understanding, and most most most importantly, a focus on God and His Word revealed to us that keeps us going. The cutest and most adorable little habit that one has can eventually become a pet peeve. The smallest difference in views can lead to a seemingly cataclysmic war of words and wills. But to that, we have God to thank for His presence and His grace in our lives that have always made the going easy to bear, and the relationship always a privilege.

That's a start for now, I promise to keep going and keep writing, and hopefully you'd all be journeying with us in our relationship with each other and with Him :)

PS: Word for the day is "Surreptitious: - meaning 1. Done, made, or gotten by stealth; 2. Acting with or marked by stealth.

Well, most certainly i hope my re-entry into blogging will not be a surreptitious affair! Spread the word!! I'm back :)

Of flexibility and musings on Christian opposition

2006-09-25T21:10:00.000+08:00

The best thing about being a student, as all would agree, is that your time is pretty much in your own control, flexible and most importantly, there are no bosses to be accountable to. Which is pretty great actually, for doing lotsa stuff. For instance, I've been trying really hard to take this time to catch up with all my friends, especially those I've had very little time for. Friends working in town suddenly seem so accessible, and meals/coffee with them so convenient. This is something I really missed out on while slaving away in the super "ulu'sville camps of the military. It's even better when the church office is also in town and within walking distance from where my lectures are held in the supreme courts (well, 20min walk in the afternoon sun's good exercise and good for a tan too :P)
Even as I type this, I've just arranged to have lunch with Mr Traffic Policeman tomorrow, someone I really haven't chatted with for awhile and would love to catch up with. Happens to be my "xiong di" (brother) for the wedding too in our endeavours to snatch HL away from the evil clutches of her osychotic sorority of dunman-ian sisters - ok not really psychotic, it just sounds nice as an adjective with sorority, sorry HL!!! :P

I'm glad to announce that my renovations are 90% done!!! The lights and basic stuff like basins, mirrors etc are going all gonna be fixed up by this week, and my bed and basic living/dining room furniture's all coming in this sat!! So amazing a feeling, not merely relief for finishing it basics-wise, but also the fact that we've a home of our own!! Our little hideaway and oasis to get away from it all..heh.. Can't wait to host speakers, invite people for dinners, bible studies, gatherings, parties etc..sigh, i just can't wait to move in actually hahahah!!! :)

Now what remains is the wedding stuff to concentrate on, including finalising the invitation lists, the details of what's gonna happen for the actual wedding day, roles for the individual helpers etc. That's another huge project in itself. But yet another hurdle overcome as time winds down towards the wedding. Whew..

There seems to have been alot of controversy with regards to all things Christian these days. From the controversy with regards to the alleged overpayment of the Methodist head Dr Robert Solomon, to the defamation suits against 2 pastors of a Bible Presbyterian church for alleged slander, to negligence suits for failed alleged "exorcisms" by priests from the novena church, and now the recent kerfuffle about the Pope's comments. Ignoring some speculations about the media's purported agenda against Christianity, these are reminders once again of the opposition and persecution that Christians will encounter in the world, with the only difference being the methods, manner and form in which these take place or occur. Not only is this so, but it is also a reminder of how sin is prevalent not only external of the church, but very much present within the church as well, with lines drawn and antagonistic divisions within the church itself. As much as I know and acknowledge these proven truths, yet these still affect me in the way I view the world, the church and man at large. While I know I am to, and I do long for the second coming, these incidences only serve to make me wish it would hasten in its coming, that once again creation would be restored to perfection and we can dwell in God's kingdom for ever and ever without sin coming into the picture.

For those who are interested in how to respond to the incident of the Pope's comments, this is a link to a great website by a great preacher on how we can respond as Christians http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2006/1811_How_Christians_Should_Respond_to_Muslim_Outrage_at_the_Popes_Regensburg_Message_About_Violence_and_Reason/

Just bought a 2-CD album of Christian love songs..it's nice, has all the Christian love/wedding songs I like, and many more. To help us in deciding which songs to use for our big day heh heh. Anyone reading this, who's gonna get married soon, don't hesitate asking us for it =)

Word for the day is Zymotic - which means pertaining to or caused by or as if by fermentation.
Well, one zymotic thing I love is cheese..geddit?? I know, getting cheesy.. :P

Wedding Photo Sample..

2006-09-20T20:11:00.000+08:00

A picture of us at Sentosa for our wedding photo shoot..doesn't she look absolutely stunning? Think out of all our pics, this is probably the one we look most natural in.. =)

Of Weddings and Exams..

2006-09-20T16:50:00.000+08:00

Time has really been flying by. Before I know it, it's already towards the end of Sept, and I'm more than halfway through my PLC. I am constantly reminded of it by the fact that my renovations and housing stuff is almost done, and my wedding preparations are really heating up. But what took the cake was an announcement bythe Board of Legal Education that I'll be getting my PLC exam schedule tomorrow. TOMORROW!!! Oh NO!!!! The scourge of all good courses, of all the niceties of studying, intellectualism and all things academic - THE EXAMS!!! Horror of horrors!!! And what's worse than the exams is...I'm getting married ONE DAY after my final paper!!

Ok, just in case you misunderstand me, I'm not afraid of the marriage or the one I'm gonna marry, God forbid, no..heh heh. I'm looking forward to it definitely!! (just in case you're reading this, HL!! =) ) I'm more afraid of what's gonna happen as I'm busy preparing for the exams and the wedding and everything all together!!!

Thankfully, HL has been wonderfully supportive and really slogging to make sure everything's all good in advance, prompting and reminding me to do this and that, ensuring all possible preparatory work that can be finished now is done, and leaving nothing for the last minute. This definitely takes up all my spare time between lessons and church, and time flies by even faster thus. But even then, you can never feel prepared sufficiently, and I'm a real control freak cum paranoid spider (yes kancheong spider) and that's probably the worst combination of traits in facing such a daunting sequence of events.

It always takes the level-headed and mature, older Christian friends who constantly remind us of the greater importance of the marriage ahead, that the wedding is but temporal but the marriage's for a lifetime. Truly, sometimes we focus so much on the peripherals but miss out the main highlight, and we are definitely no exception. While I might sometimes console myself that perhaps HL, being the girl, might be more inclined towards desiring a beautiful and fairy-tale wedding, but I'm, at times, not immune to it. Deep within me, I harbour grandiose wishes of an unforgettably exciting and dreamy wedding where the spotlight is on HL and myself for perhaps the first time of our lives (the other being our funeral, but that's another story). My cravings for attention, for glamour, for having everything revolving around me can only mean one thing - that I've forgotten that the glory of this wedding, the source of our mutual love, the maker of us all, should belong to God and Him alone. For indeed, God was the one who brought HL and I together, provided and loved us, and He will be the true Solemniser of our marriage. The wedding vows even acknowledge this - "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate" (Matt 19:6)

I'm glad truly for my friends who have offered so much advice, counselling and help in so many ways - friends who've volunteered to be coordinators, helpers, brothers and sisters, advised us on things..everything that is important for the wedding, and yet keeping our perspective grounded in God at the same time, letting us not get carried away or bogged down (oxymoronic haha!) by the preparations. HL and I are both so grateful and thankful for all of you.

The preparations have also resulted in conflicts between HL and I. It's awful when that happens, because it just means we have allowed our self-interests to precede the other's interests. It is good in showing us how we can therefore adjust ourselves to suit the other, and have a glimpse of married life. Yet bad in that now not only are the preparations taking up all our time, but the quarrels that come along with it spoils what little time we have left. What is supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime and enjoyable experience comes across as more of a chore and a source of conflict at times. And the conflicts only arise out of differing emphases placed on different things, which also arise out of personality differences.

Yet it is also unmistakably God who made the two of us so similar and yet so different. And it's definitely who she is, and how she is that has made me so attracted and in love with her. While such differences are going to be probably always present, I thank God for these, for this is why exactly we are going to marry each other.

I do apologise to all reading my blog, if you're wondering why I'm always musing on the themes of Love and Marriage, it's probably because that's the season of life I'm in right now, and so please bear with me. I promise to share more about other things that might be happening in my life and also my views on other issues. =) So akan datang (malay for coming up soon!)

Word for the day is catharsis -
1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music;
2. purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels

Hmmm I've had cathartic experiences whenever I watch really tragic movies or movies that give me emotional upheavals (like Passion of the Christ, or Tempting Heart). But I've also had cathartic experiences when I was a kid and had some worm in my tummy. You can definitely guess which is the one I prefer... :P

Studies, Dinners and the Weekend's Here

2006-09-15T11:39:00.000+08:00

Did a study on Luke for the punj leaders just yesterday, only my third time or is it fourth that I've done it?? I've always felt that the leader benefits the most in every way while preparing a study, and this was once again proof of it. I took one and a half days preparing it, meditating upon the Word, looking at it over and over again not only in terms of understanding really what it all means word by word, verse by verse, and putting it all together..Not only that, I've to think of how to ask questions and phrase the study in the best way possible to allow the points to come out. The whole process was something I really enjoyed thoroughly, for it made me truly experience at an even more intense level than normal bible reading, the power of the Word of God and the amazing grace and love He has for all of us.

Don't wanna repeat the study here, but sometimes I wish I can just shout out and keep telling people about this amazing good news of our Lord all the time heh..Think my fellow punj leaders also could see how enthusiastic and energetic I was in doing the study, but that's only because I really wanted to share with them what I've learnt, and what I hope the study can bring out..it was really truly awesome. At the same time, it was extremely challenging. For God calls us to love and to forgive, to follow Him despite all costs and expected persecution, carrying the Cross and following Him. His displays of love and grace only seem to make me feel incredibly unworthy and inadequate, challenging me about how I've been living my life. More than just that, it challenges me to continue to live out, and in fact live out even more the Cross in my life.

Anyway...
The weekend is here early!! Well, almost, since I've only a formal edu-dine dinner tonight and no lessons today! For the uninitiated, edu-dine is a dinner that all aspiring lawyers in Singapore have to go through, a dinner where senior counsels, junior lawyers as well as judges, academics and legal counsels in companies as well. It's actually something that we took a leaf from the English Inns of Courts' formal dining-ins. Well, not something unusual for me I suppose, it reminds me of the Officers' Dining-Ins when I was in the army, again something we inherited as a form of tradition from the British. The whole motive of it is good, definitely, in trying to get us all to mingle and chat with the senior members of the Bar, enabling us to understand how noble our profession is. I'm not going to go into tirades of elitism and stuffiness, because I know that's not the motive behind it, but only unfortunate by-products. But I stand corrected depending on how you see it. Me? I just think it's a perfect waste of a good friday evening where I can hang out with my HL or with my friends!! :P Worse still, she's doing food tasting at the Caterer we're thinking of having for our church wedding reception. Why oh why do I have to miss it...sigh...oh well, c'est la vie..

Word for the day is "fanfaronade", which means....(*drumroll*) 1. Swaggering; empty boasting; blustering manner or behavior; ostentatious display.2. Fanfare. Hmmm..when can I ever use that word..on my resume?? :P

2006-09-11T23:56:00.000+08:00

It's quite amazing how the weekend just flashes by these days. At least in the past, I had saturdays spent with the family, with friends, with HL relaxing at home or going out to do some retail therapy or just spending time curled up reading a book or the papers. These days, however, I'm either out running errands and stuff for the wedding or the flat; inevitably in the flat to see how things are progressing in the afternoons on saturday. Shortly after that's either a quick run around HL's place with the dog or an afternoon nap, before we have a quick dinner and settle down to preparing bible studies for Sunday.

Next thing I know, it's 1-2am Sunday morning, and I've to grab some shut-eye before waking up at 7-ish for church.

Church will be a half day affair, with bible study with punj thrown in. Before I know it, it's almost 4pm, I'm half-dead and just rushing home to grab a nap before going to do a run and it's dinner after that either with my parents or HL's sister and brother-in-law. Before I know it, i'm staring at monday.

It's not even funny how I feel that my life's just too busy and stressful for my own good. I feel like i'm always operating at sub-optimal capacity, without enough sleep, not alert enough and grouchy perpetually. The only highlights of the day (apart from seeing HL's wonderful face and her ever-cheery and bubbly presence) are the cups of coffee I enjoy in between (though I'm heavily censured by HL for taking too much of it). I'm really not kidding when I say I actually find that it really lifts my spirits up for the moments when I'm savouring the beautiful aroma of a kopitiam coffee, or my homemade Java, or a cup of starbucks when I feel like indulging myself. I'd try to make it last longer, sipping it slowly and purposefully while I take a break from my life..

No wonder my dear Den from Oz calls HL and myself coffee-mates..we're both really huge coffee aficionados (well, actually more like addicts but we don't like the negative connotations that it comes along with)..but then again, this could be more the taking a break than the coffee that I'm enjoying...or both.

On a lighter note, I had a conversation in my car with a loved one (shan't mention who) about the Old Testament Laws recently. It was truly an opportunity for me, like an answered prayer, to really be able to be able to share some of the gospel with her. She has been going to church, and I'm thankful for that..I was actually just about to prepare bible study for sunday, and really didn't want to send her to work, but I know that sometimes I have to show my love in these ways, and also had an inkling that God might open a gospel opportunity for me, which he did precisely. I can only pray that I'm clear and faithful in my sharing. Could not contain my excitement, immediately called HL about it even though she was in Malacca.

Also spending alot of time reading Freakonomics..will elaborate more on the book in the future perhaps, but right now, all i can say is - it's really one fantastic read, page-turner, way better than lots of fictional books I've read!!

My word for the day is prophylactic - meaning preventive or protective. Medically, it means defending or protecting from disease or infection, as a drug. But then again, i'd only care about the former meaning, I'm no doctor :)

2006-09-07T16:26:00.000+08:00

A beautiful song..wondrous lyrics..
To my beloved one..thank you for introducing this to me..

"Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's the season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Who is it that appears like the dawn?
As fair as the moon, as bright as the sun?
Show me your face, let me hear your voice.
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Set me like a seal on your heart,
For love is unyielding as the grave.
The flash of it is a jealous fire,
No flood can quench,
For love is as strong as death.
Arise my love and come with me
Before the dawn breaks and the shadows flee.
You ravished my heart with just one glance
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
Do not arose or awaken love
Until it so desires.
Arise, my love, my lovely one come,
The Winter is past and the rains are gone.
The flowers appear, it's season of song,
My beautiful one, arise and come with me.
I am my love's, my beloved is mine.
Arise and come with me. "

"Arise, My Love" Michael Card
Adapted from Songs of Solomon

2006-09-07T00:47:00.000+08:00

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:10-12

Love...
The other 4-letter word that is so liberally used and littered in conversations, books, utterances, yet so amazingly amorphous a concept that seems so diffcult to grasp and capture. Ask 5 different people of different backgrounds, culture, race or religion, chances are, they'd give you so many different meanings to the word. Many may struggle to find the exact words to describe it, still others may find it seemingly easier to give you analogies or illustrations of the manifestation of love, and the list seems inexhaustible.

Perhaps the most famous modern declarations of love would be that of Jerry Maguire declaring aloud to the girl of his dreams, "You complete me".

Still the other night on radio, where a radio late-night DJ asks a viewer to define Love, and he could only manage with a "it's something that makes you want to be a better person, because that girl would make you want to be a better person."

Oh how deceptive our feelings can be..how regretfully short-termed and fickle are our human emotions... it gives us courage where there were none, to say that we love somebody with all our hearts and minds and souls, to declare our love in eternal and selfless terms. Trouble is, it doesn't end up being said or declared only once. Many times, sometimes twice or more to the same person.

I sound jaded and weary of love. That cannot be further from the truth, however. I am passionately and intensely in love with love. For my motivations for love, my source of love comes not only from my emotions nor my heart, but from a higher authority. I love because God loves.

Yes. The meaning of love comes not from knowing the feeling of loving and being loved. It comes not from a romanticised ideal of what love is, but from God and His demonstration of Love, through His Word and ultimately through the Cross. I love because He loves, and I can only love because He loves. Anything else is not love but only a seeming notion of love that is but yet isn't.

But what am I, that God would love me? Am I so deserving of love? Are we, as man, deserving of love? I am but one painfully aware of my shortcomings, my evils, my sins. My whole being sins with every breath I take..my heart covets, my eyes lust, my mouth slanders, my mind plots..I cannot but help so doing, it is my nature. My life blasphemes the holiness of God with the sulphurous stench of Sin. But...

"You see, just at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!"
Romans 5:6-10

That is love..that is the epitome of Love - God's love. A love that is for the unlovable, a love that is faithful through the ages, continuing to love even when we deny His presence, His existence. Yet a love that does not compromise on His holiness but still exacting the rightful judgment for my Sins, by sending His son to die on the cross for My sins..His life for mine. Oh the sweetness of salvation, the liberation of my life...That is love..

A love that is faithful, that is committed to His creation through His promises to them, self-sacrificial, yet also with the utter intensity that even the songs of solomon can capture only an iota of..

And because of that, my life must respond in faith, in love..by loving Him, by loving others..

People have always asked me: How do you know HL is the one, that she is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? Why are you so sure of that?

My answer to that is simple. I love her not only because of how I feel towards her right now, but also because I know that even when the feelings die away (God forbid!), I will continue to love her with God's love, with a motivation that comes from commitment and faithfulness, just as God loved me. I will be true to her and the promise I will make to He who is Holy and Love. That is love. A commitment that will hold true until both of us see Him face to face.

My love is capable of definition and clear only because of His love.

2006-08-25T01:51:00.000+08:00

Some Photos from my US Trip, just the ones in San Francisco first...love the place, and love the company even more :)

2006-04-01T18:48:00.000+08:00

It's all very interesting how your thoughts can really run wild when you're under stress. I have a habit of thinking about anything and everything when I'm really facing lots of work pressure, and these include thoughts about how empty and seemingly meaningless everything I do seems to be, why the practicals must always be so far removed from the ideals...especially my area of work. For those of you who know me, you will know what I'm talking about - when the means becomes more important than the ends and you lose focus on everything else.

It is only with the realisation that the concept of a higher Virtue drives you that you still have the motivation to carry on working, and working with the aim of being completely responsible. For me, this Virtue is the concept of God's plan for us, and God's concept of work.

Now that work has been put temporarily to one side, and I get suddenly engulfed with the newness of things, the ideals suddenly become so real again, and I get once again carried away with the emotions of idealism...oh how easy emotions are in tricking us..

It is only the certainty of God's Word, and His Love shown on the Cross that is the one certainty of Hope in our lives...I'm so glad I have someone to share that with..and to persevere with me in bringing that across to others who might have yet to know Him..our Loved ones most of all..

In the meantime, i've just done up a slideshow of a wonderful trip more than a year ago, but nonetheless with fond memories abounding, which i hope to share...enjoy =)

2006-03-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

It's all so scary, I have finally succumbed to my desires to have my voice heard, my life witnessed and my testimony recorded and have therefore created this blog!

Well, it's all quite amazing actually, when I think about how I used to pretty much find it mortifying to have my own life displayed for all to see and to analyse. However as time passed and I saw how blogs can be so encouraging to my family, friends and even total strangers, I figured that perhaps this can be the sole purpose of my blog - to encourage, to share and to testify, hopefully so that people will be encouraged by my sharing, interested in hearing my opinions on life, or even for friends from distant places to know what's going on in my life and still feel part of it!!

I pretty much hope that my family, friends and people I care about will eventually make their way here to find out what's going on. But I believe in the power of words, and I believe that should my words do make an impact, eventually all sorts of people will find their way here.

Last but not least, I pray for God to use my blog for the glory of His Kingdom. While not everything will be explicitly reflective of my faith, but hopefully His Love, His glory will be shown through everything in this blog. It is definitely also the encouragement of my wonderfully supportive fiancee LHL, who has, through her blog, been a great encouragement and model of the power of a wonderfully encouraging blog. I never fail to thank God for His blessing of her love, companionship and partnership.

Amen.