Faith Noodles

The joy that Jesus offers his disciples is his own joy, which flows from his intimate communion with the One who sent him. It is a joy that does not separate happy days from sad days, successful moments from moments of failure, experiences of honor from experiences of dishonor, passion from resurrection. This joy is a divine gift that does not leave us during times of illness, poverty, oppression, or persecution. It is present even when the world laughs or tortures, robs or maims, fights or kills. It is truly ecstatic, always moving us away from the house of fear into the the house of love, and always proclaiming that death no longer has the final say, though its noise remains loud and its devastation visible. The joy of Jesus lifts up life to be celebrated.

For the first time in the 21 years of my life - I left an exam early! :) *JUMP JUMP*  ah, may as well do something like this before I complete my degree - one more paper and I have a Psych degree tucked under my belt! :)

I could while away the hours Conferring with the flowers Consulting with the rain In my head I'd be scratching While my thoughts were busy hatching If I only had a brain! I would not be just a nothing My head all full of stuffing My heart all full of pain I would dance and be merry Life would be a ding-a-derry  If I only had a brain! - The Scarecrow, from the Wizard of Oz Ha, I bet you were half-expecting an explication of wisdom of some sort ;)  But truth my told, sometimes, we humans don't appreciate how much potential we have compared to the lower level species. Been singing to this song during my break - ah, I love studying at home, one can burst into song and have mini-concerts anytime! :D

By Joshua Harris. "Think about all the training that Nehemiah had engaged in through his life, all the study, all the cultivated skill - he didn't get this job as cup bearer to the king without much labour - to make himself  intelligent enough  to function in this capacity,  skilled enough  in the ways of men,  knowledgeable enough  about government, he had applied himself and gained this significant role  by (effortful and disciplined) work, diligence and faithfulness. There is a very important lesson for us all but as I was studying this passage, I felt such a burden to speak this to the young people of this church. Do not be slack in your work. Do not be slack in your studies.  You're going to school somewhere, you're giving yourself to study - it might not seem that important to you but it is  very important!  Because it's what God's using to  shape you and prepare you so that you might be useful in His ...

"did anyone see you crying in the lecture? hehe...i havent seen anyone cry in a lecture before ;P but my lectures are normally about matrix, materials for building stuff...so." Talk about tactfully making light of a situation! ;) 

I left my umbrella outside my gym locker this morning because I did not want to get it wet, and upon returning, IT WAS GONE! VANQUISHED! VANISHED! There were no clues left by the culprit at the scene of the crime either :( And I had misplaced mine half a year ago, this was my dad's - I have gone through so many umbrellas - and they cost at least NZ$22 for a good one that does not 'blow up on you'. Checked every aisle in the girls' locker room for my umbrella and asked the receptionist - before and after I took my shower. No sight of Mr Umbrella.  SIGH. HOW CAN SOME PEOPLE BE SO DISHONEST. Now that I'm out of the gym and at the computers - I've been scouring the sea of computers and people with umbrellas - scanning for mine - everytime I see an umbrella, my head turns and I think, 'just you wait - you thief!'. :( Sigh, what a waste of money. At least it wasn't my fault. But that's beside the point. I'm so mad at whomever stole m...

"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody ." - Mother Teresa Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” In an hours time, my cousin will pick me up to send me off to the airport. A friend of mine sent me such an encouraging email about what she felt God was saying to her about my trip - it really made me cry - I'm just overwhelmed that God wants to use me, someone like me, who is so inadequate - in character and in ability - to speak out for His people. I guess that's good huh that I have so many limitations (although they scare me silly half the time)? :) At least I'll know every time I'm able to open my mouth, be myself and speak confidently - it's not by might, not by power but by the Spirit of God. God, I'm going to...

Paul's metaphor on living sacrifices in  Romans 12:1 has always confused me.  Many have joked that  the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep trying to crawl off the alter.  This snippet made a lot of sense out of his metaphor and hit a lot of hard notes in me. By Cliff Bajema. If I tell God that I’ll give up eating sweets for a month when sweets are really not something I desire anyway, then I am offering a dead sacrifice. If I tell God I’ll do something or yield something to him which is no struggle for me anyway, the sacrifice is not really a sacrifice. It is religious tokenism; it is heavenly-brownie-points accumulation. But suppose some desire is intensely active in my flesh and has reached the dimension of an addiction. Whether it is food, or a drug, or sex, or a certain person I’m in love with, or a professional objective, or gratifying thoughts of revenge, or soothing emotions of self-pity, or… whatever, then for me to say to God ‘I will yield t...

that's what I do best, right? that's expected of me? and I need to because you all need someone who's strong, right? and I must continue to be strong even though I've seen the strongest person I know cracking already :( sometimes I ask myself, why don't I crack under all this? how do I hold myself together - and will I crack someday? I worry that I am ignoring my problems again, pretending that it doesn't affect me, distancing myself, an area I specialise in and that soon, I will realise the gravity of the situation and it hits me hard (a pretty common scenario whenever I ignore my problems). But being strong.. that's what  You  help me do best, right? That's why You told me many years ago that You'll make me strong. And I bet You know exactly how tight I'm clinging on to that :)      

On the day we were leaving Kuching (which was just yesterday!!??!!!), my grandma came into the room and told me my grandpa was singing this song I had never heard of before (it's a lot to be excited about 'cos my granddad hardly says, let alone  sings  anything these days - he just sits down in his chair and sleeps or writes poems  occasionally ). I was curious of course so I asked my grandma to sing it to me and so she did - repeatedly :') May the good Lord bless and keep you whether near or far away May you find that long awaited golden day  May your troubles all be small ones and your fortunes ten times ten May the good Lord bless and keep you till we meet again May you walk with sunlight shining and a bluebird in every tree May there be a silver lining back on every cloud you see Fill your dreams with sweet tomorrows never mind what might have been May the good Lord bless and keep you till we meet again I wanted so much to break down and ...

By Bob & Debby Gass. James MacDonald said: 'It's this not-knowing that crushes us. We doubt...worry...despair...falter and fail... If we knew how this was going to play out we'd be ok.' Victor Frankl, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, said, 'A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes, whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.' Count on it, people will let you down. But God won't, 'He always does exactly what He says. He...fulfills all...[His] promises' (2 Corinthians 1:19-20 TLB). We all have areas where we need to hold on to what God has said. He knows what He promised, He can't lie, and He can't forget. He'll deliver on time. Who else can make promises like that? Now I wish I could tell you it always figures out perfectly in our lifetimes, but I'd be lying. You cannot make sense of [His] promises with this life only. You must factor in the reality of eternity. Eternity brings ...

Moon river Wider than a mile I'm crossing you in style someday Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker Wherever you're going, I'm going your way Two drifters, off to see the world There's such a lot of world to see We're after the same rainbow's end Waiting round the bend My huckleberry friend, moon river and me