The Sweetest Name Of All

Jesus, You're the sweetest name of all
Jesus, You always hear me when I call
Oh Jesus, You pick me up each time I fall
You're the sweetest, the sweetest name of all

Jesus, how I love to praise Your name
Jesus, You're the first, the last, the same
Oh Jesus, You died and took away my shame
You're the sweetest, the sweetest name of all

Jesus, You're the soon and coming King
Jesus, we need the love that You can bring
Oh Jesus, we lift our voices up and sing
You're the sweetest, the sweetest name of all

alright. first blog entry in 2007!

must say i was rather surprised that so many people knew when my birthday was this year. here are the people i have to thank for making it such a wonderful 18th birthday, even though there was no actual partying and the like.

mum & dad - for the special lunch we had in that really cool restaurant, and bringing me out for a break from doing gp.

liang wei, edmund, kai keat - for trying to come and celebrate with me on the actual day, even though we ended up cancelling the whole thing. thanks anyway, my brudders. :) oh and thank you for the... "card" too!

claire, li ru, ai zhen - for the josh groban cd! omg i was quite shocked that you guys'd bother to actually buy something for me on my birthday. a simple "happy belated birthday" would have been great, but you guys went the extra mile. thank you so much.

TIPpers - for the wonderful day we had on new year's eve! (actually this doesn't really fall under birthday thanks, but since it's only a day apart) you guys even knew it was my birthday! i don't know why, but you guys are one of the very few groups of people i really feel at ease with.

everyone else, who wished me happy birthday, belated or not, via sms or msn, or just a simple "happy birthday", whether from qbc, 06s7b, TIP, or even ex-classmates: Thank you all! your well-wishes made it a really enjoyable birthday. it even made me feel like it was my birthday for 2 straight days! :D






and thank You Jesus, for blessing me with wonderful friends, and for the wonderful year of Your blessings, favour and love ahead.

what i submitted

this is a less emo version of my taiwan trip reflections. heck, i even submitted this one to my teacher-in-charge.

相信对许多同学而言，12月是一个让自己休息以及准备面对下个学年的月份。而我们这80位同学，却在同一个月，在台湾过了一段难忘的日子。

在12月6日，我们的台湾之旅正式开始。前4天的行程让我们到了不少旅游观光景点，包括九份老街，太鲁阁国家公园，七星潭，台湾戏剧馆等地方。而我们到的每一个地方，都使我们能够增广见闻。其中最令我难忘的地方是太鲁阁国家公园，因为在那儿，真的能让我们欣赏大自然的壮观与宏伟。当然，去台湾也不只是为了看风景，而这几天的旅程也让我们更加了解台湾的风土民情。

在第5天，我们终于和台湾的接待同学再次见面，而见面时就犹如重见失散多年的好友，大家都彼此问安，谈起话来更是滔滔不绝，虽然只是没见面3个多月。在欢迎晚宴上，我们的接待同学为我们呈现非常精彩的表演，让大家又再次达到上一回在新加坡送别晚宴时的高潮。

之后，我们就到了各自的学校，开始9天的随班学习浸濡课程，而我和其他3位华中的同学被派到了台北市立永春高级中学。

到了永春，我留意到的第一件事就是学校的楼梯。几乎全所学校都是楼梯，而我也算过，单单要从学校门口走到我的课室，就已经要跨几乎200级的楼梯，可想而知永春的同学每天要走多少级楼梯。幸好他们的上课制不像我们，他们每一班都有固定的课室，所以不必像我们到不同讲堂和课室上课，否则有可能每天都要跨超过1000级的楼梯！

我们在永春上的课，除了随接待同学上他们的课以外，还有自己的特别课程，而上课的内容可说是 “文武双全”，因为我们不只学习台湾的一些特别传统技艺，如捏面人，歌仔戏，水墨画，以及中国绳结等，也上了不一样的体育课，其中包括漆弹射击，合球运动，中国武术。此外，我们也学习了台湾的特殊的地理与历史，甚至参访了台湾的一些古迹，包括十分采风铁路，老街，红毛城等，而到这些地方都让我们对台湾都有了更深一层的认识。上了这么多课，我最喜欢的是中国绳结课，因为我们学会如何用一些简单的绳子绑成美丽的鞭炮，而且还可以用来做装饰品。

在此，值得一提的是台湾学校的饮食文化。永春高中没有食堂，而每天同学吃的午餐只有两个选择，既是从家里把食物带到学校，或在学校订便当吃。学校唯一卖食物的地方是福利社，而卖的也只不过是面包和一些饮料。所以，为了避免自己挨锇，同学们每天都得自备足够的食物。

至于在我们的接待家庭的住宿，这几个晚上的相处，也让我们和接待同学的感情更加友好，而且也让我们认识他们的家庭成员。而他们的热情款待，真的令我们有一种宾至如归的感觉，自己也仿佛变成了这个家庭的一份子。我们的接待同学也很乐意地带我们到不同地方游玩，其中包括西门町，淡水，以及不同的夜市，让我们体验台湾人的夜生活。

很快地，我们也到了这次旅行的尾声。在答谢晚宴上，轮到我们新加坡5所初院呈现不同表演。而在晚宴上，也有很多同学都忙着和新认识的朋友尽量交谈，拍照留念。

到了离开台湾的那一天，在飞机场时，有很多同学都情不自禁地哭了起来，因为我们这一次的交流计划也就在此告一段落。明年，将会是另外一批同学，另外一次的经验，另外一次的回忆。

不知不觉地，就这样过了17天。

that's it. unless i get enlisted for ns before dec 25, i'm celebrating christmas in hong kong next year.

...

may blog about taiwan. or not. depends. on time (or lack of) and mood.

just recovered from taiwan hangover. interestingly, it only started this morning. maybe it was because i didnt wake up to a cold morning. yet my air-conditioner was on. never mind.

i don't know what is it about taiwan that i miss. my buddy? not that much. maybe it's the 17 days without my parents around. only peers (excluding buddy's parents). maybe it's the new acquaintances, oops i mean friends, whom i made. maybe it's just the climate.

gee, i only meant for this to be a short entry, and now it's long. alright, stopangstingalready.

here are 2 songs from the new FIR album, get high and 眷恋. heard them on the plane back. sq had the whole album available for listening. way cool. much better than other planes i've been on in the past 10 years.

anyway, enjoy.


get high


眷恋


while i try to get into the right frame of mind, have a wonderful christmas.









never had a hangover this strong on christmas eve.

taiwan.

it lasted forever, and ended so soon.

Still Sing

Don't need to wait for the sun to shine
Don't need to wait for the clouds to clear
I'll still sing
I know that my God You're so good

Don't need to wait for the waves to still
Don't need to wait for the storms to calm
I'll still sing
I know that my God You're so good

I praise You, You are for me
I praise You, yes You love me
I praise You, You are faithful
I praise You, You'll see me through

Your goodness, Your mercy
Shall follow me all my days
Your goodness, Your mercy
Shall follow me all my days

class chalet tmr & 2 days to tw!

saw this beautiful mv. just had to put it up here.



Magnificent - Hillsong

Who compares to You?
Who set the stars in their place?
You who calmed the raging seas
That came crashing over me

Who compares to You?
You who bring the morning light
The hope of all the earth
Is rest assured in Your great love

You are magnificent, eternally
Wonderful, glorious
Jesus
No one ever will compare to You
Jesus

Where the evening fades
You call forth songs of joy
As the morning wakes
We Your children give You praise

Thank You for the Cross

Thank You for the cross
The mighty cross
That God Himself should die for such as us
And everyday we're changed into Your image more and more
Yes by the cross we've truly been transformed

And we're so amazed
And we give You praise
That You would save us at such a cost

And we're so amazed
And we give You praise
For the power of the cross

just got a call from one of my juniors. apparently they're so short of wushi performers (specifically drummers) that they asked me to go back to perform tomorrow. now that's what i call desperate.

of course, i didn't turn them down. i'm so free anyway... *hides in a corner to avoid being beaten up* besides, it'll be fun to see how much my juniors have grown (or possibly lack of), and to re-live the ol' days (i left out 'good' because of mr lee's pre-performance talks) of ordering juniors around (well, not really...) and just having fun.

***

yesterday my cousins came over and when i told them about pinky and the brain, and showed them the opening theme, they all ROFL-ed. so, just for old time's sake, here it is:




ah... cartoons nowadays don't really have such solid intros anymore.

sigh

I See Grace

Jesus my help
I call on Your name
I cast my cares on You

Jesus my hope
My tower of strength
My faith is found in You

Bridge:
I see You pierced
Wounded for me
When I look to the cross I see

Chorus:
I see grace
Sealed by Your sacrifice
I see love reaching for me
Precious blood
Washes and sanctifies
Healing flows
Setting me free
I see grace


Bearer of sin
Afflicted and tried
You paid redemption's price

Bearing my curse
You've set me on high
Your death has brought me life

Bridge, Chorus

something about Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure reminded me of a truth. in the scene where scamp chooses to be a junkyard dog over going home, his dad, the tramp, says something along the lines of "guess you'll have to learn this the hard way, but our door's always open if you decide to return."

i think more pastors need to start preaching the part about God's door being always open. oh, if you would just come home! the Father would run toward you, give you the ring of authority, dress you in the best robes, kill the poor fattened calf for you! i think the part about us learning the hard way has been preached long enough. it's time to move on.


...and yet, people still condemn themselves. still think they have to do right before God accepts them. maybe that's why they'll never come home.




oh, btw, avatar season 2 finale is one week away. hurry!

love this vid. first watched it during a hcleap course.

nothing but reflections

casino royale makes it the fourth movie i've watched in three weeks. if this keeps up, i'll have to ask mum & dad to give me a monthly budget for movies.

(edit: the flogging scene was... disturbing, to say the least. and some of the action sequences were simply incredulous. okay spoilers end here)

went out with those from the taiwan immersion programme yesterday. caught a movie (no prizes for guessing) and then rushed to rj. too bad we didn't have time to go on the Doulos, i really wanted to see what books were on sale. who knows, i may have picked up a bible study guide or something.

at least going out yesterday allowed me to get to know some of them better. that's not hard actually, considering how little i know about them. and yet it seems a bit strange to me how a lot of them have no problems mixing with one another, as if they've known one another for years. at times i even felt out of place. note to self: odd number of people going out always leaves one person with no one to talk to. most of the time it's me. hmm.

somehow i get this feeling that in spite of being more open to others, a lot of us have actually become more withdrawn. i suppose this self-defense mechanism has been activated only this year, because i don't remember some people becoming more lonely (or at least that's the feeling i get from blog-hopping). it's quite sad how, as some of us (i wouldn't venture to say all) grow older, we tend to trust others less. remember the days of kindergarten, or elementary school? we made best friends easily, and friends within seconds. nowadays we look at this look at that then we decide if we want to approach someone. what's happened to all the simplicity in making friends and accepting others? judgments are passed even before we get to know that person. i kinda feel sad that there's this undercurrent of lack of trust amongst many people. or maybe, it's just me. whatever the case, i suppose this is how we're preparing for adult life. sheesh. being a kid is more fun. at least it's hakuna matata.


oh well, happy feet and open season beckon.

a smart thing you can do if you are hit with a computer virus on windows xp, is to conveniently forget the "system restore" function, and just re-format the whole com all over again.

no wonder i cant read chinese fonts yet. still havent installed multi language packs. dang.

went out with lumpy yesterday.

(who'd have thought this was possible a year ago)

went to eat at the place where he's working at. for his privacy's sake i shall not disclose what restaurant he's working at. suffice to say that it's in the central area and the food is VERY ex. if i knew it was going to be this ex i may not have gone. so i ended up trying to stuff all the expensive food. i ended up being too full in fact.

after that we went for cheap thrill aka arcade. this was also to help me burn some cals. spent slightly less than $10 combined on 2 shooters and 2 soccer games and 1 basketball game though. hmm...what with me playing arcade last fri and on sunday, i really should go to arcades less. but i don't mind more bishi bashi! it's only 50 cents a game for 3 lives.

anyway, went to watch "the guardian" after that. finally! but i must say, all the hype i generated for myself wasn't wasted. it certainly lived up to my expectations, but then again, as long as i'm entertained (think flushed away) or it's about human virtues, i'm hooked. (i also like movies which make me think but not so much to the extent of the prestige)

finally went home at around 7, feeling quite happy.





who could've guessed, a year ago, that i could go out with lumpy and still be able to enjoy myself as i would on a normal outing? =P

In You I Live

I will sing for all my days
Of Your goodness and Your grace
And the wonders of Your love for me

I will declare Your glory Lord
That You died and rose again
Now in You I stand justified

And all of my hope is in You Lord
In the saving power of Your blood

You're my righteousness
My deliverer
I am free and alive
'cos You live in me

I will shout and praise
Unto You my king
You're my Jesus
In You I live

if nagging had the power to change me for the better, i'd be a saint by now.

for once dad made me read a meaningful newspaper article.

i think i'm going to seriously consider going for it after i graduate from varsity.

www.doulos.org

hey, at least i'd be able to go to many countries, and do service at the same time!

okay! since op is now over, i can finally use my mind to think about much more interesting stuff.

today's topic: choice



do we really have a choice between different courses of action (2 or more) when making a decision?

does it count as a choice when the only 2 options available are: 1. doing, and 2. not doing?

if we know that one course of action brings about negative consequences (eg death and destruction), is there still a "choice" to forego this route? or is there any "pressure" on the decision-maker to go the only other route?

why is it that sometimes, people make decisions in spite of knowing that this choice would only bring about bad endings?

what is the price of freedom of choice?