Memento Vivere - Remember to Live

I finally got around to getting a copy of Flyleaf's 'Remember to Live EP'.
As I started reading from the album booklet, the words on the page really dug deep into my heart & tore me apart from within.

So would really like to share in the hopes that the following words may also have some meaning to you. That it may help you gain a wider perspective & may also provide comfort & healing if needed.

Haven't Done This in Awhile

So I signed up for a short term mission at the end of the year.
And I got asked to submit a 300 word testimony.

The last time I did one was when I got baptized, around four-ish years ago?
Now that I think back to it... I didn't even know what I was writing... *laughs*

But now I do, so I would like to share.
Enjoy.

Made Perfect in Weakness

Hey guys,

So this past weekend I just had the amazing opportunity of leading my first small group session. Now that I think back, it's something I've wanted to do for a while now, but never felt capable of.

I wasn't capable.

The night before, I'd completely drained myself from final preparations & I pretty much just collapsed onto bed. I woke up a bit earlier the morning before to do a bit more preparation - I was physically drained.

I hadn't even had time to read through my script out loud, I knew I wasn't able to do this well.

But I knew God could.

Throughout the presentation, I didn't even have to try, words just naturally flowed out of me. I wasn't even nervous. It just happened.

It definitely wasn't by my own power. God had done something great here.
Even though I felt physically weak, I was ill prepared, I still had the passion to share His message. And I really felt Him using it according to His will.

I'm about to share my word-for-word script (warning: it's a long read).

I seriously couldn't have written all of it in the amount of time I did it in. I just can't be inspired so much for so long. God really inspired me as I was writing. So I hope that what you read, may not be my words to you, but God's message to you.

The Ideal World

I'm sure at some point, we've desired for an 'Ideal World'.
Ideally, "I would be able to do this", "this would happen this way", "the world would be like this".

For many of us though, we picture an ideal world to be one without pain & suffering. One where everyone is at peace, there are no conflicts, no diseases or sicknesses, no natural disasters. Everyone would live a cherishing life & return to the grave happily - or even not at all.
There would be no stress in our daily lives - we would live happily ever after~

The Comfort of Fear

Legs trembling, heart pounding, I'm in fear.

What started off as a simple ambitious goal has now become one of the greatest challenges I will ever face. I am yet to know the result of it, but even though there is a fear within me of what may happen, this fear is nothing compared to how excited I am.

I'm glad I'm Christian - not anything else

Lately, I've been having a craving curiosity of other religions, especially ones that are closely linked to Christianity itself. It's been a nice journey to see that even though some friends may have many little differences in their beliefs, they are still saved. Wholly 'cause of one thing - Grace.

It has also been quite shocking in some cases to see how some people have decided to create for themselves their own standards, own doctrine, & own ideas when the truth is plainly clear in the Bible.

Grace? Who cares..

Well here's this 'grace' that's been poured freely on us.. do I have to care?
Can't I just turn a blind eye to it & let those that actually care accept it for themselves?

It's just a choice with two mutual sides isn't it?
Either I accept it or not, it's one way or another - my choice.

Perfection of Sin

A sinless world.
It sounds like the ideal world to be in. The terrors we see all over the world everyday, the unending struggles we have with our flesh, & the emptiness in our hearts are just a few of the devastating effects of it. All of it gone? Couldn't possibly get any better.

Sustaining the Flame

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Every Sunday, when we hear God's words, we often feel the effects igniting a flame within us, to maybe make some major changes in our relationship with God. We become so pumped & worked up to live a better life for God.

Then as the business of life resumes on Monday, the early wake up, the piles of work throughout the day, we become caught in the rough seas of life. We get tossed around, battered, shaken to our core & almost just like that - we are once again trapped in the cycle of life.
All the inspiration, the desired resolutions, the accepted challenges, new commitments, the need to live a better life for God just dissipates.

Essence of Grace

Hey guys,
I have to admit I've been a bit quiet lately. With all the things going on around me, I haven't really been able to find time or motivation to write up a post despite the many things I would like to share.

Well anyways, I've managed to gather the motivation now so here goes.
Recently, I went through one of the most both mentally & physically challenging moments I've had in a while. If I may say so, it was beyond challenging.

Show Us how to Die

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice~

Today I came across the story of Zach Sobiech, a boy around my age who passed away a few days ago. What's amazing, is that despite having a clear vision of physical death in full view a year ago, he decided made the most of it & has inspired many (including me) to live everyday to it's fullest positional.

Why I haven't deactivated Facebook

So today I came home after school completely soaked (weather was terrible) & was completely prepared to just relax & give my mind a rest after another week of school.

But that didn't quite happen.
After doing my usual 'Facebook run' today I came across a very interesting post my friend was tagged in. It seemed to be one of his friends engaging him in a debate about various things in Christianity. So after reading through his many questions, I got interested to do a reply myself as well.

The Endless Cycle

Think about your life.

Every morning, the dreadfulness of waking up early and forcing yourself out of bed. Then having to frantically rush around the house to get everything done before heading off for work or school.. The tiresome day then starts. Work, work & work...
As the day draws near, you're completely fatigued, wasted. You're finally in the comfort of your home after a long day. However, you've been handed stack loads of homework & assignments throughout the day to do, what rest is there?
You stay up till late at night to do more work. As you finish, as you slip into bed and close your eyes into slumber, you feel you deserve a long night's rest. But as soon as the world goes dark, it starts all over again, the alarm ring, the struggle to get out of bed, the continuous cycle of a busy life...

Why are you doing all this?
Isn't this cycle just full of stress & discomfort?
Where will it take you? To a prestigious university? To a good job?
And then where?
Why am I caught in this cycle?

A Busy Week

Hey guys,
I've been wanting to blog about so many various things the past week, as it was completely filled with inspiration at camp through christian speakers, worship, encountering God in the outdoors & many other things. But as much as I wanted to, I was caught up in those many events & haven't had time.

So I'm just going to share some of the experiences this past week.
I don't think I share my personal life very often on here.. so here goes...
>>may be a complete waste of your time - read at your own risk.

I hate You God

So yesterday, I had one of my greatest fails.

I kind of woke up two hours late for school. 

Instead of waking up at 0630, I woke up at 0830, the time that school starts. You could imagine the look on my face as I saw the time. I literally leapt out of bed & frantically got ready for school.

There was no way I wasn't going to be late for school.. in fact, I was 50 minutes late for school.

And as some of you may know, the school I go to is quite strict & definitely doesn't tolerate lateness.

Our Bodies for God

I have to confess that I've been 'a bit' lazy with maintaining a balanced physical life lately.

I personally feel that keeping our bodies healthy & well/optimally functioned is one of the most important things in our lives. As God has created these bodies for us that can do so much, why not keep it well maintained & use it all for His glory?

So today, I'm going to give some insight on how we can physically keep our bodies in good shape either in our workouts, with fitness or with strength training.

Rise

Hey guys, so today I was just listening to Colton Dixon's new album, A Messenger, & even though the album in its entirety is amazing, one song really stood out to me.

It goes by the name of "Rise". 

When I first heard it, I was just purely amazed at Colton Dixon's musical talent in singing that song.

#sickofit

Are you sick of it? Raise your hands,

Get rid of it! While there's a fighting chance.

Are you over it? Bored to death?

Have you had enough regret? 

Take a stand, raise your hands...

Skillet's new single 'Sick of it" finally came out today!

For the past few weeks, the title of the song has been trending on instagram with people expressing the different things they're sick of in many creative ways. 

There's something I've been completely sick of as well lately.

I've been wanting to do one for a while now as a Skillet fan, but I've had so many other priorites, but today I had an extra urge to do one.

The One Downfall

So I was having a nice start to refreshing week.

I was completely freed from my first job last Friday, which I have to say was extremely stressful but also an amazing experience. On top of that, I also had one of the best weekends I've had in a long time, spending time with really good friends, watching an amazing movie (Silver Linings Playbook) being able to attend and lead worship, I was so grateful for everything & was in high in spirits for the coming week.

When Everything Falls Apart

It falls, apart, from the very start, it falls apart, 

seems like everything I touch, falls apart, 

everything around me, falls apart, 

when i walk away from you~

Throughout this past week, I have experienced everything around me falling apart.

It seemed to just all happen at once, as if a wall suddenly crumbling.

It all happened because I allowed the absence of one important thing in my life.

A God who simply is~

I was reminded of a very important truth as I listened to a sermon at church this morning.

It's two simple words - "God IS"

This truth may be very simple, but it really means so much for us as believers in Christ.

The Trailer at the End

Well the past few days have been quite a ramble for me. With school life, badminton & church commitments I was already very busy. But then on Thursday I was rung up & asked if I was interested in taking up a Census job.

I wanted it at that time, but at the same time I knew that it was a huge commitment & wasn't going to be a small job. With all the other things that kept me so busy, I was really unsure about it. But in the end I still took it up.

The Drag of Life

Since school is now completely underway, I noticed I haven't had much time & motivation to have the enjoyment of writing to you guys.
With all the homework, new things to learn, & commitments out of school, I've found myself relaxing & doing nothing whenever I get the a chance to do so.

It seems like all the business of life may have gotten the best of me, that it may be steering my life. And I know for certain that's not meant to happen.

For What It's Worth

♫ Gold, gold, bones, bones

And all that useless

Gold, gold, bones, bones

Where did you bury your heart?

As some of you may know, I really wanted to get a job during my long summer holidays, but came up unsuccessful. Now that I think back, there were two reasons I wanted a job, experience & money.

I always know exactly what you need, even when you don't know for yourself

I was initially going to a different blog post today. One I've been holding off for a long time, but events that arose today really made me feel I needed to share those experiences first, while it was still fresh in my mind.

So today, two pretty big things happened.
I got informed whether I got accepted for my first job & also, my CIE exam results came out.
In both events, I may have not been entirely happy at first, but looking back, I can honestly say that God gave me exactly what was best for me~

The Apple of the Eye

There are many things of this world that make us stumble & once again fall short of His glory~

Most of the time, these certain things are actually not bad things at all.

And the other times, they're bad things that are cloaked to look good.

Dreadful Moments

Well yesterday, I had my first ever job interview.
I'm happy to say it went way better than expected.
All thanks to God~

Two Weeks Too Late

Well for nearly everyone out there, two weeks ago was New Years - January 1st.
It was the end of another year, & the start of another.
For most, it meant time for a change, a resolution.
That was two weeks ago.