Mark 13

The end times are near. Today's message was detailed, direct and powerfully delivered. It was very interesting to hear statistics of the world's food shortage, wars, natural disasters (tsunamis, floods... etc.) but chilling because of the large numbers. There are 4 seals: Deception (Rev 12:9, 2 Thess 2:9-12), Wars (Mark 13:7), Famine (Mark 13:8, Rev 6:6) and Death- disasters, cyclones, tsunamis etcs (Luke 21:25). Deception is what I'm afraid of... a 'watering down' of the faith. God, please help me to stay rooted in You and to present You as you are to others and not any other way.

I learnt a new word too... called, eschatology

, which is a study of the end times. Our youth Sunday school may embark on a series of Revelation studies with the speaker if consensus has been made. So far, response has been quite good. :) I hope there will be a class for it.

" Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."
Mark 13:33

Vancouver Winter Olympic Games

Was watching the coverage of the winter olympic games on television and really enjoyed the exhilaration of being a television spectator. :D It's so cool to watch the winter games because we don't have these kind of sports here... no snow, no ice, summer all year round. :) The athletes are great and their stamina and determination makes me admire them. I love competitive sports.

Tuesday

... just a random note: just now I was cracking eggs to scramble and 3 of them had double yolks! No wonder they were big eggs, my mum was saying maybe its ivf or something. :) She bought it from the market nearby.

Ok, getting back to my main post. Today I had piano exam in the morning slightly earlier than 10.59am, the stated time. Thank God for a nice examiner who's an elderly Scottish and was very friendly and gave quite a number of hints. On commenting on the texture of the piece he played for me for the last part of aural, I said the texture was homophonic. There was a pause and he played a part of it again, more audibly emphasising the imitative texture of the piece, to which I immediately realised my error and responded that the texture was polyphonic. Giving a smile of relief (it seems) he heartily voiced a "Thank you!" confirming that his hint had got through and I had responded correctly. Oh my, I was quite ashamed that I couldn't pick out the texture especially if it was a Baroque piece. Sad to say, my pieces did not go without slips, including scales. Double sigh. Aural was unexpectedly quite ok, I thought I wouldn't be able to identify the modulations and chords at all but God enabled me. ( I had been worried about it and prayed about it... He answered! :) ) Thank God too for the prayers by my family and friends for my brother and I who both took the same grade exam consecutively today.
...I sincerely hope though, that the kind examiner would have better players than me to listen to... :D... he was really patient.

With piano exam done (unless I have to retake), I can focus more on violin exam coming up and music theory (I've forgotten quite a lot of grade 6 stuff already). Taking music exams and learning music is costly and I don't want to waste the opportunity given to me... so even though I've felt like giving up so many times and stared at my violin bow with agitation, with God's help, I'll press on. It does become easier though when I've crossed the challenge of mastering something but I've realised that in order not to lose the skill, I must not stop practicing and of course, practicing should not be a dead regime as well.

Prayer

God has a purpose in everything He does. Everything. Many times, I pray like how Francois Fenelon puts it in his book, Christian Perfection, "Too many people pray like little boys who knock at doors, then run away." We're doing this book in Sunday school now called, "Partners in Prayer," by John C. Maxwell. It's an exciting book for me and I'm looking forward to learning how to pray the right way and to pray without ceasing. Right now, I'm praying for a prodigal brother. Please bring him back LORD.

Immersed

I've recently been reading a book entitled, "The Last Sin Eater." The title itself already suggests the occupation of the sin eater. My dad bought the book, haha my house is a little like a mini library, so when a new book comes, I read it. :) The book is an unputdownable. For the first time, I read a book in about half a day. I like the story plot as the characters are metaphorical of Christian context. This fictional story by Francine Rivers allows readers like me to really step into the shoes of a person who is still living in fear and held in the bondage of sin and the longing to be free and at peace. Later as I read on, this little girl called Cadi Forbes and another boy are saved by hearing from the "man of God," a missionary to their clan in the highlands which were quite hostile to strangers. They experience joy and freedom in truth and even the sin eater was enlightened and freed from all his years of being a scapegoat that hindered the village from knowing that only the One could take their sins away, not mere man. As a 2nd generation Christian, I didn't really experience a dramatic joy when I received Christ but I feel free in Christ and am still learning to walk in Him. This story enabled me to get an inkling of how a first generation Christian feels at the intense freedom in Christ they feel when they believed in the truth and saw the light. I'm glad that I read this story. I think God is reminding me about His grace and mercy and that I too have a duty.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 14:6

照片

paternal grandparents

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera on the other 2 days we visited other relatives so... next time, I'll try to remember then I'll be able to take a picture with my cousins and maternal side of the family. :)

Marina Barrage- class gathering

The many kites in the sky was a beautiful sight to behold. It was very windy and sunny there... perfect weather conditions for flying a kite. Unfortunately, none of us brought kites as we didn't have any and one was too costly to purchase there. Though few, the 8 of us had a good time talking and finding out where each of us had decided to pursue our studies. It was decided unanimously by M. and I that Marina Barrage was a must-visit-again place. Photographers were not short in our small group, 3 brought those professional looking kind of cameras, 2 of which are DSLRs (I think). Of course, this photo above wasn't the product of one of those cameras, it was taken by a point and shoot camera. The blue sky is such an awesome background... credit to God for painting it. Just last Sunday during sermon, Uncle YS was talking about a person who wanted to be credited for his skills in photography not his camera, just like how one would admire the skills of a calligrapher not the pen/brush used or the creativity behind a piece of architecture and not the kind of tools used. Seldom do we look at what God has created and say, "God, nice job there!" This little story has taught me something, to always remember the Creator who made the creation.

Thank God for today!

新年快乐！

今天 是 新年初一。我们 去 拜 访 镇祖母。(my maternal side... ok I'm really bad at the names especially in Chinese.)镇 祖母 煮 的 菜饭 美味 可口，香 喷喷的， 有虾，汤，popiah, ngoh hiang 和 炸鸡。她 煮 的菜 很 好吃，我想 外婆 是 继承她的基因 所以 煮 饭 也 是 她 的 拿手。
We had a great time eating and talking. Another thing, it's almost always during Chinese New Year that I'm reminded of the generation differences. For example, I've aunties and uncles on both sides of the family who are around the same age as my brothers and I or younger. It's quite funny to address them as a 长辈 because of their age even though it's the appropriate address to use. :)

Aside from that, I got to know teochew culture just a teeny bit better when we ate at a teochew restaurant with my paternal grandparents during a reunion lunch on the eve of Chinese New Year. (Usually my grandfather cooks and we eat at their home but this year was different.) So, I got to know more about the dishes that the teochews specialize in like "onni" which is a teochew yam dessert that's sweet and nice. I also found out that our teochew ancestors home is in the Guang dong province of China in some village (I forgot the name of it... need to ask my grandfather again). It's cool to know about all these facts and I hope to be able to visit the place one day. Sad to say, I don't speak the language and I know little about my own dialect's culture. I think I should make an effort to learn more about teochew culture and language so that I can truly say, " wah si teo chew nang!" (teo chew for I'm a teochew!)

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day of visiting and eating. I'm looking forward to mostly the fellowship with my relatives, eating and the 红包。:D

Wednesday

I like this poem a lot. Read it in "The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness" by Tim Chester.

To know my Jesus crucified,
by far excels all things beside;
all earthly goods we count but loss
and triumph in our Saviour's cross.

Knowledge of all terrestrial things
never our souls true pleasure brings;
no peace, but in the Son of God;
no joy, but through his pardoning blood.

O could I know and love him more
and all his wondrous grace explore,
I would not envy man's esteem,
but part with all and follow him.

Richard Burnham (1749-1810)

Saturday

Not childish.
Just relishing in those moments.
Running in the sand,
spinning,
laughing,
climbing,
racing,
helping one another:
giving one an extra boost up the flying fox seat;
pushing with all one's might
to give the rider
a thrill.

It was fun.


It was nice seeing Lydia again as well as their family. :D

Be Still

Went to the canal again this morning, with much difficulty getting up. So I left the house with my mum slightly later than the day before. However the sun seem to have come out much earlier than yesterday. Anyway, this time I snapped some pics. I tried to capture leaves falling but was unsuccessful. As my mum says, this is a "split-second" kind of thing. I hold up my camera towards the tree whose leaves seem to be quite abundant in falling off with the wind, evident by the leaves on the floor and wait. When the next gust of wind blows. The leaves fall and I snap but capture only the tree, staring in jest at my failure... while it shakes off a few more leaves.

Well, I'll try again next time. :)

Jog at the canal

Went for a walk and a 'half-jog' at the canal in the early morning today with mum. :D
It was really refreshing to see all the greenery and breathe in the fresh cool morning air!
With more time to spare now, I should visit the canal more often. It amazes me how a canal can be so beautiful. I love nature and just walking there is a pleasure... close to nature. God's creation is simply amazing! Birds twitter and flitter amongst the trees... a stork sunbathing, its body reflecting against the water... the occasional leaf falling at the slightest gust of wind... the calm and stately stream of canal water rippling in the early morning...

Thank God for today! :D