WHAT WOULD HAPPEN

if no one cared?

anymore.

OH BLURRY LINES

Sometimes I don't even know if what I like, is what I like.

Or it's what you want me to like.

BEING SERENADED

by jack johnson.

Ahhhhhh..

"umm it's always better when we're together".

Bits and piece of wedding planning inspirations.

We have a colour scheme. honeysuckle and peach!





















Liking the idea of hanging stuff of branches/edges of chairs. Not sure how that's going to happen yet.










































































sources: 1, 2, 3

Don't want to give away too much!

THE COST OF THE GOSPEL

While I am typing this, evangelists in Iran are being executed for refusing to stop preaching the gospel.

If I am truly convicted, why do I chat about frivolous things.
If I am truly convicted, why am I worrying about things like the car and getting my PhD done.
If I am truly convicted, I would go out and preach the gospel.

Does this mean I am not truly convicted?

10 THINGS TODAY

1. Baby feet are soooo cute.
2. Banana bread and coffee. My favourite combo even if I have to eat alone.
3. " Hi, I'm Serene, a student from the University" : Beams at unexpecting survey victim.
4. Worst sense of direction in the world (next to Emmerie).
5. I <3 GPs. Can I be one?
6. Don't park so close to me or I'll kill you. At least with my eyes.
7. Pizza + wedding rehersal.
8. Don't leave me. =(
9. Maybe I was too quick to judge.
10. And I should be writing. Real important scientific stuff.

CREATIVE WRITING

Inspired by Greg's talk about the consequences of 'electronic' relationships and how there is a lack of filter on the things we post online.

I feel like being cryptic today.
Type sentences like I just don't care.
Why should they have things to say?
When these are my thoughts to share.

Today I feel like writing.
Just words straight from the heart.
Will it matter who will be reading?
Why must I craft as though this is art?

When typing with your keyboard.
All may mean less.
But you may push friends overboard.
With posts not meant to bless.

And when night time creeps in
This blogger has some tips
Never create a din
With words that comes from your lips.

Think twice when sending that text
And posting facebook updates
For the net gives you the pretext
Of speaking without gates

There must be an ending for this post.
And yet I can think of none.
I guess ideas must be lost,
All inspiration has gone.


Night!

DAY 11 DEATH DO US NO PART

My grandfather passed away about one month ago.

Although I was not extremely close to him, I loved him very much.

Death just makes you think hard about the futility of life. The idea of never being able to see someone you love ever again, is extremely painful.

Separation is any form is difficult. Whether by death or distance, the idea of someone close being far is always unbearable.

Today day 11, I thank God that there is no eternal separation for those who believe in Christ.

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."^g]">[g] ⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"^h]">[h] ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:50-57

and we look forward to seeing those separated from us in a perfect heaven.

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:1-5

I JUST KNOW

The one difference about being a Christian in Australia is that the response ' I just know' isn't quite enough here.

When I was home in Malaysia, quite often my explanation for believing that Christ died for my sins is simply, "I just know".
I did not quote Scripture. I knew vaguely that the Bible was historical but I couldn't quite tell you how it withstood the scrutiny of historians. I'd never read the book of Revelations in it's entirety. In fact, I had very minimal bible knowledge apart from the firm conviction that I, belonged to Christ.

Then, I came to Australia.
Predestination, propitiation, evidential apologetics, ontological Trinity.
Excited by the amount of careful study people placed into the Bible, I threw myself into it. People actually studied whole BOOKS of the Bible instead of singular verses taken out of context.
In fact the first book we heard preached about was every preacher's nightmare : the book of Revelations.

Almost 4 years down the road, I think I know the Bible a bit more than when I first came.
I've read Revelations and Romans in its entirety.
I believe in predestination.


But somehow, sadly, I find it hard to say " I just know" anymore.
It scares me that I agree so easily that we need to fear God but somehow cannot nod my head in agreement when someone says God loves us.

This week at church , we learnt that we need to fear God because God is wrathful and powerful.

But the Bible, also speaks about His great love for us.

¹How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1John 3:1-3

³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Eph 2:3-5

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:34-36

I guess, 'I just know' isn't really a complete response.
We know because the Holy Spirit convicts us.
The Holy Spirit convicts us because of the Father's great love for us.

And how blessed are we when we can say, I just know.

OPS TRAIN PEREMPUAN?

Inspired to blog about relationships after having a couple of conversations with friends.

The dynamics of modern relationships is really confusing because gender roles are no longer clear. The burden of providing financially no longer falls on the male's shoulder and vice versa, females no longer do all the housework on their own.
With this switch, comes more power for women ( the rise of feminism!). We literally get to wear half of the pants in the relationship (because we pay for it right?).
And we, girls become more demanding, we want more of everything and we want the things we want. We expect that men do more than they are actually capable off.
With the increasing dominance of females in our current culture, men are made even less capable of doing what they ought to do.

This has thus resulted in the existence of immature, selfish, useless males ( more accurately termed as man-boys).

So, ala Tinki Talks Ops Train Jantan, this one is for the girls rather than the guys.

Girls, it is not wrong for you to expect love from your guys. Rather guys should always ( I repeat always) strive to protect your girls both emotionally and physically.

Rule number 1. DON'T COMPARE. This is the root of all misunderstandings. Comparing your guy with another guy is the worst thing you can do for a male's self esteem. Expecting your boyfriend to become someone else is the worst mistake you can make. They can change, become better but they cannot be that person you are comparing them to.

TREAT GUYS LIKE GUYS. Not just your boyfriend. Any guy. Don't take over leadership roles. Don't insist on moving heavy furniture. Don't insist on driving all the time. Let guys be guys. Yeah, feminists, kill me.

And on that note,

BE A WOMEN. Men and women are equal but different. Point made. We are not men. We are softer, more sensitive, better versions of men. We want security and someone to protect us. But we try and become the protector of ourselves simply because we don't trust the men in our life.

EXCITEMENT IS NOT EVERYTHING. It isn't. Right now, flirting with a random guy might seem so much more desirable compared to being with a nice, boring guy. But in the long run IT ISN'T. Guys that bring excitement are usually trouble (I might be stereotyping). Unless you're up to it ( i.e. not looking for marriage), steer clear from these guys. (again generalising). And with time, even boring guys can change.

NO MAN IS PERFECT. Prince Charming suddenly looks like a frog? Girls, we want this ideal man, but there is not such thing as a perfect man. Because we are all flawed, selfish human beings, used to looking out for ourselves. If you set the bar too high, you're might just realise that the bar is out of reach, even for you.

See, this rant is not about letting guys of the hooks. They do need to love us, be romantic, shower us with gift and affections, change their bad habits etc etc.

But so do we. We need to stop being so self absorbed and self centred.
Our generation of women, with so much freedom and opportunities, needs to stop thinking that the world revolves around us. We need to stop putting men down and taking over their roles. Instead, we need to start thinking about how we can complement one another and play our own respective roles.

And so I end this random rambling post with a picture of me and my attractive colleagues. CHECK OUT MY TOP HAT.

I FEEL

Strange.





















My feelings don't match my thoughts, my thoughts don't match my expressions.
I feel scarily out of place in my own comfort zone.
















It's as though I haven't allowed myself to...feel.
I've laughed without feeling happy and cried without actually being sad.
Maybe this is growing up. No time for feelings.






















Being of melancholic temperament, I have the propensity to think of the cup as half empty rather than half full.

























I''m too blessed to be sad.
Too lucky to be emo.






















I tell myself to snap out of it.

























And I will
Tomorrow I'll feel normal again. Tomorrow I'll feel like me again.




















But right now, I just feel....weird.

EASTER, WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT

Recently, it has just become so clear, that humanity is tainted by sin and selfishness.

We live in an amoral society, one that claps you on the back when you trip others in the attempt to get to the front of the pack.
We no longer value values, such as kindness and self-giving, instead people who try to have any values are so often labeled stupid and idealistic.

And more and more, I'm seeing how the book of Romans is so accurate in its description of humanity and why we deserve God's wrath poured upon us. Reading about God giving humans over to our sin , to our foolishness, to our ungodly impulses, has always saddened me. He made our thinkings dark and futile, so that we couldn't see Him, couldn't know Him (Romans 2).

I am the kind of person who believes in fairy tales. The prince always saves the princess. The bad guys always lose. The world will then be filled with roses and we will all live happily ever after.

Why did God give us over? Why did He not fight for us like the prince fights for the princess?

Unlike the princes in fairy tales, Jesus was not majestic or attractive. He was neither popular nor desirable (Isaiah 53).
The unlikely saviour, the unlikely king.
Jesus fought for us, not with swords and shields. He died for us, he was buried and on the third day, He rose from the dead and appeared to men (1 Cor 15:3-5).

And Christ brought hope and reconciliation to us, by sacrificing his life for us when we were sinners (Romans 5).

So , now we are no longer slaves but free in the spirit and we look forward to future glory and to the perfect fulfillment of the promises made by a good and awesome God.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

As we enjoy the chocolates and the holiday, let's not forget the real meaning behind easter.

RANDOM

When I start thinking, my brain goes into overload. Distracted, nail biting, restless ( or maybe just a reason for pure procrastination)


When I stop moving, when I stop expecting, when I stop wanting, and craving,


The emptiness screams,


there's no way this world is enough for me.


Craving for something different.

Or maybe I want more of the same things.
To go skin deep.

To live life the way it's meant to be lived.