hey guys...

hows d last wk of sch been?? for me, i've unofficially finished my classes *winks* hehe. tmr juz haf 1 hr of lect.. so alls good.. for those of u who are rushing assignments, all d best.. for those of u who are juz too free to go to some costume shop today, go study!!! hahaha...

anyhow, just to help u guys destress, watch the video below (shown to me by my lecturer)..


wad a cool lecturer i have rite... haha.. anw.. jokes aside, as u guys know, dis wk wld b combine cell.. so yup. its at 7.20pm @ trinity college, cambridge room. if anyone needs transport der, let jeremy know (basically, all of u, settle wif jeremy how u get der.. hahaha.. i play no part dis wk k?) oh n for refreshments dun worry abt wad our cell has to contribute. i'll settle it. heh.

anw.. do do do study hard k? wif d exams coming up i know all of u wld b stress n all. but always pray for wisdom, guidance, discernment, brain power. hehe.. n ofcourse lets keep each other in prayer too.. for those of u who r stressed or anything, juz give me a yell k? i'll always b free for u guys. hahaha.. ohoh. n for those of u who still dunno, a certain someone lost your exam timetables, so pls email one of us jiali jem or myself your exam timetables den we can put it up soon k??

alrighty.. enjoy yourselves.. n i'll catch u guys on friday..

Ilects, notes and the lawbury...maybe the reid too

"if practice makes perfect and no one is perfect why practice"

Seems that time is upon us again. As we head into our last official week of classes and get ourselves ready for swap vac, many emotions sweep through our mind. For some, there are feelings of trepidation and fear, for others who have put in the hard yards, there is supreme confidence, and yet, no matter how much you have prepared for the exams, there would always be some elements of doubt and fear. The time is now. Sure, it may seem that we are heading into a time of crisis. But the reality is, how we respond will prove vital to the end result. Times like these, I question whether if all that matters is the result, or if the process is just as important. This holistic approach to our exams seem to be the right way to go. Are we just trying to score well for exams? Or are we trying to pick up skills and show that we have understood these skills for our chosen future occupations. 

The reality is this. Life is really all about inches. I mean, yes we are in deep doo doo now. For most of us, time is running out. We still have many topics to cover and yet, the facebook consumes us. So we can stay here, in our self pity, or we can fight our way back into the light, we can climb out of the poo, inch by inch, one inch at a time. Now on this team, we fight for that inch, we claw and tear away at anything just for that inch. For when we add all those inches up, we know its going to make a difference. I promise its not going to be easy. There will be times where we feel like giving up. But take hope that the rest of your kiwis are going through the same thing, and most importantly, in our suffering, we have a hope in our Lord. 

Pretty soon, the exam timetables of your fellow kiwis will be posted up. I would like to urge all of us to pray for each other. Pray for the favor of the markers, for strength of mind, for concentration and above all, pray for diligence. With one pump fisted raised, let us all Ah ooh in unison as we head into the final battle.....

"We practice for we hope for perfection"

Hot weather...0_0

Aloha dudes and dudettes.

Who has been enjoying the amazingly hot weather? I for one have embraced this new weather change with great enthusiasm. So anyway, short post this week, just wondering if any one you guys would be keen to beach it up this sunday. Its pretty much our last week of fun before study week and we have to urgh... study. So lets take up our bodyboards, our bathers and our slippers and head out to cottesole for a sunday afternoon of fun. We shall pack a picnic basket with sandwiches, chicken, biscuits, wine and whatever for sustenance. So please, come come come.

Cheers, 

JT

so long farewell

yupyup.. as seen frm d title, u guys shld know wad dat indicates... yups.. its time to say farewell.. kk mayb not dat extreme.. ofcourse u guys can keep in contact over d hols.. and pls do. hehe. but yea. it'll prob b d last time dat we meet for a proper cell.. everyone go "awwwwww".. hehe.. but yea.. do rmb we can only move on so that we allow God to bring us to d nxt level, so even before dis cell ends, lets start getting excited for wad God has in plan for us k??

this week is gonna b quite a lenghty cell yea.. so was wondering if u guys cld come @ 7.. can can can??? we've just got alot of small things to do. so in d end, its gonna take quite a long time. on top of that, i dun wanan deprive u guys of awesome food.. so yea.. if u all can make it, lets all come slightly earlier k?? pls give a shout out if u're ok with it. :D

juz to get u guys excited, dis wk, on top of our usual cell group stuff (jiali is doing worship *applauds*), we have to do a cell evaluation, and we're also having a surprise element.. so u guys get excited k?? and ofcourse lastly, we're going to have awesome refreshments.. hehehe.. below r juz some pictures to get u guys hungry!!! haha..

yeap, its gonnna b a korean theme.. we're having dumplings, bbq (and pls.. i wan my hse not to smell.. be nice), bbq, rice cakes, bimbimbap etc etc etc etc... so yea.. get your stomachs ready!!!! (",)

a little update

hey guys..

hope u all had a good rest over the weekend before all the rush and hassle of school starts again this week... and i can't urge u guys even more to remember to spend time everyday with God.. spend time in solitude with Him and really seek Him.. it says seek first HIS kingdom and all these things will be added unto you..

just a short update on the plans for the week.. since everyone is gg to b super busy dis wk, and this wk is gg to b d last cell, and you guys r also busy with "cell outings w/o the cell leader" *hehe*, refreshments dis wk wil lb done by yours truly (with the help of lijin) hehe.. i'll juz need someone to bring some drinks (to fit the theme)

dis wk, we'll b having a korean theme.. juz to give u guys a sneak into the menu, we're having steamboat, bbq, kimchee fried rice, bimbimbap, rice cakes etc etc.. and if someone can bring mayb d aloevera drink? dat wld b good. hehe.. do let me know if u're bringing it so we dun get like overload of drinks..

yupyup.. dats all from me now.. sorry for the lack of time to update more.. hehe.. i'll update again somewhere in the middle of the week k?? u guys take care yea!!

Hugs

Hey friends, greetings and salutations upon you all.

 

What do you know, in the blink of an eye, our time is coming to an end. Think back to that first cell where we had that massive food fest, the day we had the incredible bbq in eunice's living room, or the time we watched the olympics and jia li got mad at certain people for mentioning the now termed unmentionable word, think of all the times we burned up eunice's internet bandwidth. How about the time we ( i use the term "we" here very loosey) spent the night packing stuff for SFAS and then after that still decided to go eat uncle billys. I for one seem to remember eating alot at saigon this semester.

 

Next week, apparently is our last cell together along as a cell. This thought has made me very teary (note to aletheia, you better not be huhu or haha, or if you are, make the haha a short one). As such, i do urge you to enjoy each other's company as much as possible. Give out as many hugs as possible, whether imaginary or real, these hugs do mean alot to all. Also, as our last session as a cell comes to a close, i also urge all of you to work those abs and continue to watch your carb intake. Next week is really going to be very special but i don't want to spoil the surprise lest eunice crucify me so ill let her blog about that some other time.

 

Anyways, there is a point to me blogging today. As you all know, i truly hate blogging unless there is something absolutely blog worthy. I do hope all of you can take the time to read the following then. Me, having been very distracted the last couple of days and thinking too much, decided that i should spend more time reading the word. And as i was reading and flipping around, a bit aimless, i came upon the story of Paul and Silas in the prison. This story has a significance to me as it was the first reading i ever shared in a bible study back in Singapore. I was also very blessed to have heard a certain prominent pastor speak about this. But i digress....

 

The reading is Acts 16: 25 - 34

 

Yea apologies for the lengthy intro but i have a point to share. Anyways, the story goes that Paul and Silas were worshiping and praying when they were in jail and God send an angel to set them free miraculously. What happens next is their jailer finds them freed from their chains and is shocked. Paul and Silas then preach to their new jailer friend and the jailer and his whole family are saved and baptised.

 

So this pastor shared on this reading and emphasized on the act of worship.

These were the points he shared from my hazy memory ( darn that i still don't have a notebook)

1) Uninhibited Worship breaks chains in your darkness hour

- Paul and Silas were worshiping without restraint full of joy to the lord and it was at midnight (or the darkest hour). When we worship with our whole heart, especially in our times of darkness, God will set us free from our chains.

 

2) Uninhibited worship affects others around you and breaks their chains too

- it says in verse 26 that the chains of the other prisoners were broken too. When we worship God with our whole heart, especially in praising and singing to him, we affect others around us. Their chains will be broken too. I guess how that impacted me was that in the context of worship in church, the unsaved, or even the people who might not have experienced a truly intimate worship experience with God will be affected, when we worship.

 

3) Uninhibited worship saves the unsaved

- the jailer, after having seen Paul and Silas set free was given a chance to hear the gospel. After that, not only he, but his family as well was saved. When we worship, we have the opportunity to affect the unsaved and lead them to christ. I swear the atmosphere or something changes and God comes down answering us who seek him so much and worship him in exaltation. And when he comes, the lost will get touched and saved.

 

Ok thats about as much as I remembered as it was a long time ago. Funny enough, this message just came to my mind so i thought ill spring some major verbal action on you guys. So i challenge all of us, the next time at church or cell or wherever, let's just worship in an uninhibited style, just giving it all in worship. I remember last sem, my old cell leader challenged us to just jump around or raise our hands or do whatever that helps us best express our love to God in style. And he guaranteed that what we would feel after, how our relationship with God evolves after, will be like nothing we ever experienced. Honestly, i do love worshiping God and its pretty much my favorite part of any service ( not to say i don't like the other parts too) but yea.

 

Ok ill end here even though i have heaps of jokes and funnies, ill leave that for my last post

 

Cheerios Kiwis,

XOXO

the 4 blessed "looks"

Look back and 'Thank' God.
Look forward and 'Trust' God.
Look around and 'Serve' God.
Look within and 'Find' God!'

'I asked God, 'How do I get the best out of life?' God said, 'Face your past without regrets. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear!''

'Without God, our week is:
Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday and Sinday.

So, allow Him to be with you every day!'

dig deep, fly high

i wanna be like a tree
planted by the water
trusting in the Father to keep me strong

i wanna be like a tree
planted by the water
trusting in the name of the lord

*enlightenment* thats a kids song that the kids ministry sang today.. yupyup for those of u who din know, jem lijin n myself popped by the kids ministry today.. it was a very interesting experience cos jeremy gave himself a new nicname, lijin had fun i dare say, and we all had fun wif daylan during lunch.. i'll get photos up somewhere during the week yea..

anyhow, back to that song dat we sang today.. its really amazing how God speaks.. as i came home after church, i was scanning through my itunes and this podcast called 5 lessons from the palm tree caught my eye. and *the usually lazy me that wont bother to listen* i sat down to listen to it. and i felt its not only for me, but for all of us.. dats why i tot i'd share it wif u all here.. i'll just share with you all 3 main points that really struck me and if u guys want the last 2 come look for me (",)

lesson 1: palm trees are not easily uprooted

amongst all the different trees, palm trees are the toughest planst that exist. and its for the simple reasons that their roots grows deep into the earth to search for water. and the roots here represents your relationship with God. you really need to build up on your relationship with God to stay steadfast in Him.

You are only as strong as your roots are. so no matter how much you show other ppl on d outside, if your roots are not strong, u'll juz b like an empty vessel.. and the last thing is you may not look like much right now, but if you are planted in God, whats in the roots will get to the branches

lesson 3: palm trees will bend but not break

palm trees are one of the most "flexible" trees around. the tropical winds can be so strong that it snaps all other trees in its way, but the palm tree may bend, but it does not break. and when the wind stops, the tree will bounce right back.

all of us are made to outlast the storm. let us all not let setbacks, life, the enemy etc pull us down yea.. with God as your roots, u can bounce right back up.

lesson 5: cold will kill the palm tree

palm trees do not survive in the cold. and this illustration is really quite straight forward. if your relationship with God is cooling off, means u're "dying" and it is your responsibility to create an atmostphere of warmth so you can grow in.

ps franklin ended off wif 2 quotes "keep a warm environment in your house" and "dig deep, fly high"

wow. when i was typing it, i felt like it was a whole word. but yea. i really want to encourage you guys. start digging deep.. i've challenged some of u to have a consistent QT dis wk.. and for the rest of you, lets aim to listen to God more this week k?? it'll amaze you how much He wants to speak with you. (",)

anw.. how have u guys been ?? *i know dis shld b @ d beginning but yea. din wanna spoil d flow* i heard u guys had fun w/o me. *sobs* hahaha.. but i had a refreshing time as well.. its good to bond with the leaders of the church once in a while. hehe.. n since i heard u guys were too engrossed in hot guys on youtube n google than listening to jiali's announcement i'll just hafta repeat it here. hehehe... pasar malam (curtin's version of spring feast) is dis friday.. what say u guys if we have cell at 6.30 *sharp* and go down for that? heard its really good.. give us a shout out in the tag board if u're ok with it yea. n further details will follow soon.. (",)

ciao italia!!!

harlowz!!!

long time no see... seems like past few posts has been from jeremy.. dis cell leader mia-ed for awhile. hehe.. how has your week been busy??? hope all of u are surviving in terms of clearing your assignments.. its the last lap of the race for dis sem, so dun give up yea.. muz press on..

most of u wld haf gotten a msg frm lijin by now regarding dis wk's cell.. as d title says, we're heading for ciao italia before cell for dinner.. so we're hoping to depart from nedlands at 5pm.. since d place opens at 5.. n aft dinner, we'll head back for cell @ my place yea.. n dun worry light refreshments will be provided after cell. hehs.. i know u guys will b wanting stuff to munch on aft cell hehs.. so yeap. dun worry about bringing refreshments dis wk yea.. i know all of u r tired frm assignments etc..

we'll b having a guest speaker dis wk *drum rolls* jeremy tan hehe.. n yupyup.. alot of exciting stuff during cell. so yeap.. get yourself excited for cell k?? its d day i always look forward to the most during the week.. and and and. pls prepare yourselves before coming k??

i know most of u wld haf checked your exam timetable already. n rmb to pass em to jiali on friday so she can compile a list k? [n jeremy will b collecting some info as well.. ] and even as u all start getting worried abt assignments n exams n how u'll manage, remember to always look up [to God for help and guidance and directions] and lift up [our eyes to Him whom we'll receive help from] so in d midst of these busy period, dun forget God k?? He wants to guide u n help you through it!!! *its the motto of my pri sch, but i find its just so relevant n meaningful.kudos to PLites*

"I lift my eyes up to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth" - Psalms 121:1-2

The weekend that was

Strangely, maximum impact proved to be really impactful. Im not sure if the purpose of the event was to impact, but if it was, it certainty proved to be very impactful. A few things i learned from the event. Smile when you talk. This was truly revolutionary and the idea of smiling while you talked really hit me hard. Of course, there are certainly exceptions to this rule and a few scenarios the speaker did not think about. For example, it is very important what kind of smile you are giving off. If you are talking to a small kid, do not under any circumstances smile in a leering sort of way. Similarly, the cheeky im-not-taking-you-seriously smile is also not advised in most situations. There will also be times where you do not smile at all. One such situation would be when your lecturer is telling you off for talking in class. Other situations include someone telling you about the death of a love one, and someone telling you that their parents are getting a divorce. There were other things that were taught that day but i was very distracted by Aletheia trying to play kiddy games on paper, Janice routinely shooting me dirty looks, and Lijun sending me notes with very defamatory comments. However, Im sure most of you had a fruitful experience, please do sign up for next year. Or if you can't be bothered, just watch the trailer. As Aletheia pointed out, that is really all you need to know. Also, I find the black man staring back at us very creepy as well.

I thought I share a trend of thought that I've been having for a while now. It kind of tied in to what that pastor dude spoke about at maximum impact. He was talking about vision casting. The last devotion I did spoke about how we can have moments on the mountain. That is, where we get the vision, where we feel God the most, where we feel we can do anything in him. However, the author of the devotion begins to say that there will be a time where we have to go down to the valley, where the hurts of the world are, where our fellow men suffer and that is where we will truly be tested. I for one didn't like the idea at first. I mean, who doesn't want to stay on the mountain forever and stay close to the Lord's presence. I guess what I'm trying to say in this short span of page without yapping on for too long is we really should'nt be discourage or sad when we are in the valley and "away" from God. I think if we renew our minds and hearts with God every single day, really we will just be fine. So maybe we can keep all our members in prayer. Pray for each one of us that even though school, work and even our relationships can really drain us, and times seem overwhelming, that God will always renew our minds and give us strength. For he is our strength. So for all those kiwis out there who feel weary, be reminded that we are on each others prayer list and God loves us.

Whew that was a bit of a mouthful. Anyways, i think i asked everyone last friday if we wanted to go down on wednesday to utopia for Wilson's singing debut. Tickets are 10 dollars and yours truly managed to take off work to go support the willy man. Do note also that Willy is the newest member of the former Team JLA now just J-LAW. Know that I will be calling you and pester you to come, so be prepared. Also, the team at kiwi headquarters, mainly just Eunice is thinking of going to Ciao Italia for dinner one of these days. If you have not been, you really should be shot. The tiramisu alone is worth the long drive to south perth. What do you guys think? Friday before cell or Thursday night? Let us all remind ourselves though that we have assignments due on friday. [update: lijin will b giving u all calls to see if u can make it on friday k?? cos thurs is springfeast. so think u guys wld wanna go support your friends der]

Anyways, this being the start of the week, i hope all of you have a great week. Do call each other to have chats and talking to kiwis are really fun.

peace

L-O-V-E Cell

Hello lovely kiwis,

What a day it has been for some of us kiwis and a few other kids who tagged along. We went to the royal show today and ill probably blog about the day some other post when im not so sleepy. Just some general information about cell tomorrow.

First up, Our zone sup dorcas will be popping by tomorrow to share the word. Please be aware that it usually is pretty full on and heavy so come with your hearts prepared and really be receptive to the word. 

Of course the most important thing is our cell refreshement theme. This week, we will be making sandwiches of all kinds. Feel free to bring any spreads, or meats or fillings for our sandwiches. Some things that need to be brought include the following:

Butter or margarine

Tuna

Chicken Mayo

Chicken&avocado - eunice teo

Mayonnaise or other sauces

Egg

Cold cuts

Cucumber

Lettuce, cucumber, tomato

Peanut butter - eunice teo

Bread ofcourse - jeremy

sandwhich press - eunice teo

And anything you can think of really to make sandwiches with. Channel your inner subway sandwich maker and let us have some licking good times

Cheers

Jerry Bunz