Women Of Destiny

This year holds the most memorable valentine's day memory for me because ...... kena BURNT under the hot sun!!!

1) We went to celebrate V-day with BrenBren at her school funfair but we didn't grab a glimpse of her at all...... SOBS!!!! We ended up having a mini picnic under the hot sun [ZM kept insisting that it was a shady afternoon!]. We bought pizza, nachos, sardine puffs & drinks with the coupous we bought.

2) We celebrate V-day with our ETHNOSEMMANUEL cluster mates! It was a chill out night where unprofessional singers belt out many wonderful melodies to entertain the others. heehee. The atmosphere was very relaxed and fun & peppered with soooo many lame jokes! Rennie, WangYing & Phoebe really did a wonderful wonderful job in organizing the whole programme. ZM sang 勇气, EJ & me sang 爱和承诺and 梁山伯与茱丽叶.


















All in all, I thank God for such a lovely and meaningful V-day where we're not just caught up in emo mo mo love but celebrating a day of love & marvelous friendships!!! Happy FRENSHIP Day Gals!!!!

*Special thanks to cherry who made the yummy mummy cup cakes for us!!!

What a year of Sabbath... This year I see many of the things that can be shaken in my life....SHAKEN... And I'm sure it's the same for some of us.

As we go through tough & difficult seasons of our life....Let us Remember Jesus. Our God is great. His unfailing love, great compassion is for us.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise

Romans 8:31-39 (New Living Translation) Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Luv Cynthia

Sharing with everyone this special post written by a dear friend of mine.

Disclaimer: Please read with discretion! =) Stay tuned to my blog for the true blue Singapore version of the story.

So sit tight and enjoy this story.....

So yes, this is the story of a "couple" of my friends. And how the met. And how friendship blossomed into a tree bearing much fruit. Before I go on, I must admit, I have to preconceived idea that Singaporean girls generally are more aggressive compared to Malaysian girls. And I still do think so.

On one of the days during the trip, I asked my new found friend called C, how her relationship with my other new found friend called E happened. She proceeded to produce a a little story slightly south of the truth. When I asked E, a differing story came up. And when I asked the rest of my newly found friends, even more disparities were produced. So I guess I shall hope off the bandwagon and merge my little puzzle here.

I managed to find some cute and archived pictures from this blogger, very creative I must say. Anyways, I'll be using some of her material as part of this story. So all credit goes to her for pictures. =)

Anyways, the story goes like this...

For a long, long, long, while, our friend C has been waiting for a burning ember to spark up her life. But like the saying goes... it's hard to hit a moving target.

Yet somehow, it never happened. What to do? Wait summore lorrrr.

And then suddenly... E appears out of nowhere. Why? Because when we keep our eyes so peeled for something ahead, we never learn to appreciate what has always been around... Hehe. So the moral of this story is... don't tunnel vision. Later low SA (Situational Awareness), then GG.

So they became friends on a mission trip. Wahseh, holy fate + destiny + galaxy colliding + etc etc + please_insert_own_ideas_here. But this is where it gets interesting. C says, that she thinks E is too friendly.

There's such a thing? O.o

And before E can do anything, he's already pwned by the force of a woman's mind. Because in a woman's head... friendly = player.

Everyone say: First Blood!

But yes, E is friendly and warm. So when C sees this, she panics and puts out the fire before there is even a hint of smoke. Yet, she cannot help but already be captured by his presence and charm...

So as the usual corny story goes, time flies by, they become good friends and then they begin to notice each other and then and then and and then. And before we know it, voila.

Being the wonderful rolemodels that they are, they return to their mentors and pastors and "tribes" and begin to consult wisdom from age and experience. Soon they gather up their thoughts and said to themselves... "Why not?".

And from there, C begins to allow E to win her heart. Awwww.

But for that to happen. One of the following must arise...

I'll let you decide for now which one arose. Hahaha.

Nevertheless, as E arised to win C's heart, he embarks on a quest so fearless that it requires him to have faith and the heart of a lion. After all, to win a girls' heart is no easy feat. It requires someone like the above four pictures to rise up deep within. Haha. But the truth is, Someone even better must arise first.

And so E prepares himself. And when the opportunity arose, mathematical formula proved true.

Opportunity + Preparation = Destiny ready to be taken hold of!

A girl will never give in that easily. Obviously because they are complicated creatures which complicate the mind of men. But in the end, with faith and courage, and perhaps a little encouragement from the brothers above...

E wins C's heart. And now they have embarked on a journey ever so beautiful. Even though I do not know the entire story to the point. And neither do I know both of them ever so well, but this I do know...

"And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Ecclesiastes 4:12

So, to E and C. May you both be blessed on this journey. And may I be invited to your wedding day. Hopefully not to present this blogpost. Hahaha.

You're both wonderful rolemodels and mentors to a generation in desperate need of guides in faith, hope and love. And as you both look to our King, may you both radiate with his presence and grace. And above all, may you both radiate with, and in, His love. As we fight for the future, I continue to hope in standing by your sides, fighting for the Cause and for life. With God, less is indeed more.

"What the world needs now, more than ever before, are every day heroes who are ready, willing and able to make a difference." -
Greg Hickman

PS: Why do I say Singaporean girls are more aggressive? Because they tend to make the first move more often than not. After all, a girl must give clear signals. Guys are dumb when it comes to picking up hints. But we were still made first. So there. =P

my friend told me that i've been very guyish lately. really.

she said i was too insensitive to notice all her hints about a certain matter. and no, it's absolutely nothing scandalous. i mean, i have always been considered the most guyish among certain friends. maybe it's my wide shoulders, my tendency not to pay attention in class or my irresponsible and lazy streak that girls always assume guys have. not true man. totally not true.

i mean, there are many guys who are emotionally sensitive, extremely hardworking and responsible and conscienctious. then why can't a girl be exactly the opposite? lay off the sterotyping please. i can understand when the school auntie always used to call me AH BOY, WHAT YOU WANT before correcting herself, but i mean, i like being this way.

i know i'm childish, but i find it tiring to be a perfectionist in everything, even in the things i dislike, or any other femenine virtue like being neat. not a hobby of mine. don't get me wrong- i love being female, and i'm neither crooked nor do i wish to change my sex or anthing absurd like that. does growing up mean that i'll have to be the prim lady in stiff blazers, or the perfect housewife in the future or something?

i suppose peter pan never thought that wendy didn't want to grow up because she would have to turn into a pile of make up and underwear with big fat load of rules to follow. no no, i feel that moral values, principles etc. must be learnt and appiled. but can i break the rules once in a while, lose a little more interest in studies and loosen up? be a kid, just relieve myself of having to smile to all difficult team members and be the peace maker all the time. or for a minute, lie down and enjoy having a blank mind. i've tried to get girly, neat handwriting like yali. i've tried to be high achievers like them-they got gold, i'll get silver. be elegant, posied, careful and feminine. i'm blur, clumsy and my legs always fall open as much as i try to keep them closed(but they are closed in church, i think). it never ends. i know it's not all mature and godly, for we need to do our best for god all the time right?

certain times i just adore being a kid. no worries, no conflicts, believing in silly, innocent dreams, believing that the uncle really just wants nothing else but to bring you upstairs to give you a sweet. beliveing that friendships last forever, that deaths are too far away too think about, and there's always someone to carry the weight of your world along with you.

so i just have one question. can a girl be like a 'sterotyped' guy for once, and not bother about her looks so much, her grades so much, not bother about how many boyfriends others have, wear huge t shirts to not bother about her fat? can a christian find rest from trying to be perfect all the time for pre believers to see? because the more i seem to try,it doesn't get much better.

love, brenda
and this is NOT an emo post (:

this year is a sabbath year (:
today was a sunday ( yea, past midnight ), in the morning, i wanted to study for my maths. yes, im mugging hard D: but i suddenly thought of something. "ehhhh, today is a sunday. i thought it's suppose to be a rest day?" and i was not thinking about slacking ! (: but i remembered during our cell retreat, and in the morning, for quite time, she asked us to read..exodus 20:1-20. the Ten commandments (: and one of them was,

8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

SEE :D yea.. (: so, we're suppose to rest on the sunday and attend service (: heh.

so no matter how busy and how little time left u have to complete it, on a sunday, u just have to stop everything and that day is only for God (: so leave it special ! :D

♥ Ellyn

as much as i am hyped up for sunday, i don't feel all godly today. sadly. i'm feeling really mixed now.

i mean, all the tests are raining down, and competition's nearing. we're so not prepared. i mean, if we don't get gold, they'll say the exco of 08 to 09 is useless, and we can't do anything about it. i'm just so scared. but as comfort, i'll recall what fear had done to me.

my cousin jasper(his other name, for privacy purposes if he happens to stumble here)and i were quite alright as childhood friends. in the past, i always considered him inferior to me because he would kick and scream when asked to bathe and somehow nearly be strangled while playing with the curtain strings. well i am defintely more sensible than that, i reasoned.
things got different when my aunt got breast cancer. i don't recall much during this period, but it got difficult to talk to him. my first sentence couldn't be "how is the hospital treating her?" or something. she eventually got better, but then a bombshell hit.

she died. the cancer cells had somehow spread and she had passed away. this turned everyone's world upside down. in two years his maturity shot though twenty mental years or so. other guys would be dunking each other's heads in the water, but jasper would have been playing with the younger, lonely kids. i became the unwise, the small and irresponsible.it was horrible during chinese new years, having to face the awkward situation. something unusual happened when i went for my niece's one month instead.
we were in a room with all the other cousins, when in an attempt to break the ice, he sheepishly asked me if i was still a workaholic.

"what workaholic? i've never been one!" i scoffed, bemused.

"no, last year you brought your textbook to study during po po's birthday dinner remember?" he frowned. he was talking about when i was about to have my big exam and i hadn't studied enough. i laughed at the stupid thought and denied it. before it could quickly returned to that weird silence again, i began to clean up all the dirty plates.
"what are you doing? oh no no, i'll do that for you!" he rushed over.
"it's ok, i can..."
"no no, you're a guest here, you shouldn't do anything." with a smile, he turned and left. as much as it was ordinary, it made me think.

we were family, and this action was a huge contrast to the 'get the coke yourself, make yourself at home' rule. it made me almost feel as if we were strangers to each other. and he might have even thought i was the more hardworking and better cousin. then it hit me. my fear and itimidation had created a barrier for donkey years, and prevented our family ties from growing stronger. wasn't that stupid of us? it was terribly ironic. after that i made an effort to know all my cousins, and we had a great time during new year.

but my point to myself and everyone is, fear can create barriers. not for safety, but of blessings. in my case, it'll prevent myself from doing my best. has fear been holding you back from your dream to be a singer, a desginer, a teacher or even a preacher? so we should all pray about it. (:

till sunday,
brenda

I must say, that I do my best work in the toilet (my toilet, that is!) As I was sipping Vitagen and shitting, I was just thinking back to when I was young. Remember how when you were young, you always had a bolster, soft toy or pillow to hug and bring around? I, at least, had one. I had this special bolster which I named "Bobo".

Hies here's the slideshow for the Amazing Race! Enjoys! Thanks for being such great fun everyone. I really really enjoyed myself! Truly this is the season of INTERDEPENDENCE!

Man this has been delayed & delayed for the..... VERY LAST TIME! :) yea!
3 key areas that I would like to thank God for! He is indeed the ONE who gave & is able to give victories indeed!
*Lead 3 to Christ in 2007
First is in the area of personal growth. I'm always inspired by how pastor Serene evangelize to everyone around her & I wish to cultivate the same habit of testifying & sharing Christ too. Though I didn't mangaged to lead 3 people to Christ but through obeying our church's corporate call I bless over 20 people (lost count of exact number) during the 100K Blessing. Amongst these are my relatives, my good friends, strangers, neighbours, my mom & my grandma!
*Family Salvation in 2007
Hmmm, didn't hit this as well. But I'm totally awed how I got to bless family & relatives through the 100K Blessing. I'm not really close to my relatives as we only see each other once or twice a year. But things have improved since & I'm asking God for greater breakthoughs beyond 2007. Oh ya, God answered my mom's prayer as well so ya la she definitely know God can answer prayers! hehehe. (It's sorta kill two birds with one stone cuz it's linked to my final area) And God also provided my whole family to visit Australia together last year. My family hasn't gone for a trip together like more than fifteen years ago so it's definitely a precious time together. It's less stressful than I imagined & we really had fun & good family time!

*Attached in 2007
Yes yes, my mom's prayer request during the 100K Blessing is that we can find our boyfriends & girlfriends. Since then my brother & I have officially started seeing someone! I know many people including all you precious little gals have been worried & praying hard for me. Thank you dearies & thank GOD!!! hahaha! I've got an extra special from God in the form of Mr EJ through your persevering prayers! :) He's a great guy & I really experience double the joy & halved the sorrows (can share with EJ mah so halved the sorrows). So gals pray hard, declare & wait for God's perfect timing. He gives us the BEST!!!







Sometimes we may be all caught up & discouraged by sad/depressing situations around us. But hey, Let me give you two tips.
1) CHOOSE TO GIVE THANKS! Remember that God is good & He loves you! As we give thanks we are reminded of God's goodness and we negate the negative thoughts which Satan is trying to plant into our mind to discourage us.
2) WITH THE END IN MIND! Remember 2007 theme verse.. God will eventually give you the victory! May you take heart in the time of moulding & refining through the adversities of life. Knowing that you'll emerged stronger & better!
2 Corinthians 2:14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Luv Cynthia

Had a pretty tiring week so far.

Ever since my injury on Monday, i've been limping painfully every where i go.

Being someone who wants everything to be fast and efficient, i get really frustrated with myself when i find myself overtaken by practically everyone and not getting to places as fast as i used to.

Also, having been to the sinseh, i knew how serious my injury is and that i really should not put too much pressure on it. BUT I'M REALLY REALLY ANXIOUS FOR IT TO HEAL IN 2 WEEKS TIME, just in time for my 3rd match. (I missed the 2nd one, and no way am i going to miss the 3rd one.) And i simply cant stand my snail pace. Oh, took this picture while i was watching the match i couldnt play, though i very much wanted to =( -->>>>>

And yes, i understand how sometimes when a person hurt him/herself, people will naturally be showering more care and concern for him/her. But maybe im just not a big fan of having special attention. Its not as if i'm paralysed! *Touchwood*

This friend of mine, lets call her A, said she wanted to go home with me. Another friend, B, was with me as we are heading the same direction. When i asked A why she would want to go home with me because its just not very convenient for her to do so, A replied, "Because of your ankle la."

Now at this moment, instead of feeling the kind of fuzzy feeling and touched from her reply, i felt angry instead. For goodness sake, i didnt even ask her to do that and she's sounding like she's so obliged to do it. I told her, with a hint of frustration, "No need la, who ask you to do that, seriously you can just go home."

After that, B told me i was being very ingrateful. But to me, i just felt...i dont need the sympathy that i thought A was "radiating". I just dont need the special attention can!?

I was so so annoyed and irritated that i uttered a dirty word under my breathe, which unfortunately, B heard it.

Suddenly, i really wanted the pain OUT of my ankle, i want to walk without the awful limping and climb the stairs without feeling breathless, and STOP sitting out for trainings. I just dont feel like waiting...

It was then, while i was doing some reflection of my own, that i felt really guilty, for shooting down my kind and thoughtful friend and for saying that dirty word. I think God wants me to learn something out of it. And im going to wait and see what He wants to tell me. And i really pray hard that some big big miracle could happen so that my ankle could twist back and be as good as new again.

Signing off,
Jo

alright, i'm taking time off my studying schedule to do this post. but you can keep a secret i trust!


i won't deny that this week was absolutely hetic and horrid rubbish. still, i plan to makE this into a psalm format, where it begins all pensive and emo but ends positively.


well, i was pleasantly surprised at the devotion and the sermon topics. you see, my closest friends have been really nasty and hurtful to me all week. to avoid having more bitterness towards them, i shall not elaborate. but anyhow, it cut really deep into me, especially when they were all pre believers so i couldn't react negatively in case they question 'what kind of christian are you?'well, today the topic was about reconciling for the sermon and facing difficult times for the devotion booklet. i suppose i really have to start trusting god with this, for i have been feeling that lately, i have been influenced from all my pre believing friends(which means all but one actually.) also, i'm thinking of apologising to that friend of mine who hurled insults at me. i didn't react in the most postive manner, and even though i feel that it's not really my fault, i should still apologise. i just have to submit this hurt to the lord, as much as it pains me to do so.

secondly, i remember discussing with my best friend (she's a christian! thank god!) about how our lives had suddenly becoming so meaningless. alright, it's incredibly emo, i know. but try going through my week with a body that has 5-6 hours of sleep everyday and you'll comprehend. we promised each other that we would try our best and reconcile with god, for as everyone says, the end days are here, and i feel such intense fear even till now. obviously i'm not ready. well, both the sermon and the devotion talked about "teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom". it helped a bit, and i'm confident it'll help a lot more for the next week the more i keep it in my heart.


this would be a little off track, but lately something has been irking me lately. don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to accuse anyone here. recently many people have been ranting about their exciting love lives in my school.

'oh, did you hear? XXX got a boyfriend in our class!'

'YYY that prefect has A BOYFRIEND IN VS MAN"

'i'm meeting that shuai ge from XYZ school today! oh my *** he's so hot! i'm so happy!'

then again, let me clarify. i don't hate all these people. neither do i dislike hearing about that part of their lives for it's really quite interesting. they are my good friends even. but it just makes me rather annoyed to some extent for I'M BOMBARDED BY IT. jealously, envy, whatever you can choose to call it, for i'm not too sure myself. i mean even in a girls' school! oh gosh! I KNOW, I KNOW ALREADY. even if no one fancies me i'm fine, until i hear such things. not that it's the guys fault for falling for my sweet and attractive friends, but you get the point! what do you do when you date anyway. after all the movies, romantic walks and dinners, flaunting each other at family gatherings and chinese new year- you can't get married at this age. so i always tell myself-it's ok. now all i need is to focus on my studies and god. nothing else. still, i wish i could have a christian friend to help me throughout this in school. i'm getting rather disgusted with what my friends are doing now.


so, all in all, despite the fact that i'm clearly distressed, i'm still counting on god for guidance to become a happy snowman

Arlows dears!!!

Have been thinking about blogging tis down but didn't get to do it properly. Okies la, half of me was shy, the other half was due to busyness.

But I guess it's important for you to hear about my personal journey as well. So less shy I will be.

xxx weeks ago, EJ & me met up with Ps Adrian for our very first accountability meetup, through which he shared with us "Courtship 101" module. What he shared was practical stuff that we still talk , joke, apply till today.

(borrowed from EJ)
4 Unhealthy Patterns of Communication:

1. HAWK - Total dominance. Refusal to listen to other party's thoughts and feelings. Just blazing the trail and doing whatever he/she thinks is right by his/her own instinct.

Implications: Danger of becoming a MCP. Ignorance of how other people feel. Tendency of views being rather self centred.

2. DOVE - Peace loving nature and in general always would want to avoid conflict. Whenever potential conflict arises, will always give in. Common statement spoken are "Oh, it's ok.. nevermind", "Yupz.. I am ok (but actually is not)" Always close one eye to everything. Sweeping everything under the carpet kind.

Implications: Danger of suppressing how one really feels. No true honesty in relationship. Little things not processed and shared will amount to big things. soon one day, the carpet cannot contain all the junk and one will just explode internally.

3. OWL - Always using the wise man approach. Typical amongst most guys. Whenever conflict arises, he/she will do his/her utmost best to argue their way through. Seemingly refuse to admit 'defeat' and wants to out talk the other person.

Implications: Danger of pride - refusal to admit mistake or say sorry even when in the wrong. Chinese saying - 死爱面子.

4. OSTRICH - When problems and conflicts arise, he/she just buries their heads in the ground and attempts to escape from everything.

Implication: Escapism is the key word here. Fear of confronting conflicts and issues. Just want to run away. Honestly, running away doesn't solve the issues, it just worsen it.

Pause...................................................

This DOES NOT just apply to BGR, but definitely in our everyday human relationships with one another too. I can identify which unhealthy pattern of communication I need to be mindful of. And I can also identify some of yours too! Like it or not, there is a tendency that our communication pattern is in either one of these catogaries.The key here is to be mindful and don't let these unhealthy patterns inhibit us. :) Stay tuned for 'Courtship 102' module next month.

Luv Cynthia

Taken from http://pascoaman.blogspot.com/ "Integrity" - This is one man that I totally respect. It's always wonderful to hear him share.