nicH

2010-09-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

A Beautiful Exchange

You were near
Though I was distant
Disillusioned I was
Lost and insecure

Still mercy fought
For my attention
You were waiting at the door
Then I let you in

Trading your life
For my offenses
For my redemption
You carried all the blame

Breaking the curse
Of our condition
Perfection took our place

Chorus:
When only love could make a way
You gave your life in a beautiful exchange

My burden erased
My life forgiven
There is nothing that could take this love away
And my only desire and sole ambition
Is to love you just the same

Chorus:
When only love could make a way
You gave your life in a beautiful exchange
When only love could break these chains
You gave your life in a beautiful exchange

Bridge:
Holy are you God
Holy is your name
With everything I’ve got
My heart will sing how I love you

Greatness of our God

Verse 1:
Give me eyes to see
More of who You are
May what I behold,
still my anxious heart.
Take what I have known
And break it all apart
For You my God, are greater still.

CHORUS
No sky contains,
No doubt restrains,
All You are,
The greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I'm far from close
To all You are,
The greatness of our God.

Verse 2:
Give me grace to see
Beyond this moment here.
To believe that there
Is nothing left to fear.

That You alone are high above it all.
For You my God, are greater still.

CHORUS 2x
No sky contains,
No doubt restrains,
All You are,
The greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I'm far from close
To all You are,
The greatness of our God.

Brigde: 2x
And there is nothing
That can ever separate us.
There is nothing that can ever
separate us from Your love.
No life, no death, of this I am convinced.
You my God, are greater still.

2x:
And no words can say, or song convey,
all You are the greatness of our God.
I spend my life to know,
And I'm far from close
to all You are,
the greatness of our God.

2010-09-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Because I always think that it is bizarre - no, I always think it is unbelievable - that you can love someone, really and truly love someone, and then one day you do not recognise their face.

If you loved someone, you would think that you would know that face always and forever - wouldn't you? Shouldn't every line of that face be stamped on your heart?

But it is not. Your heart forgets.

A white plane with a red tail was taxiing towards us. As it headed for the runway I could read the words on the side. Qantas - Spirit of Australia, it said. There was a slash of white on the red tail, and when it got closer it revealed itself as the silhouette of a kangaroo that was as sleek as a greyhound.

The plane turned, moving parallel to the observation deck for a minute, no more, as it pushed out to join the other planes that were lining up for the runway. And then I found myself walking by the glass wall of the observation deck, keeping up with the plane at first, and then seeing it pulling away from me, and starting to run. I said his name one last time, my hands pressed against the glass. And I watched him go.

Men from the Boys by Tony Parsons

2010-09-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

Loving her was a little like taking the same seat day after day on a commuter train - you couldn't imagine how it might feel to be in the row behind, you could swear that the dimensions and hollows of the seat were made just for you, you come back to it repeatedly with a whoosh of comfort and relief that it was still available.

Mercy by Jodi Picoult

2010-08-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Being adopted felt like reading a book that had the first chapter ripped out. You might be enjoying the plot and the characters, but you’d probably also like to read the first line, too. However, when you took the book back to the store to say that the first chapter was missing, they told you they couldn’t sell you a replacement copy that was intact. What if you read that first chapter and realised you hated the book, and posted a nasty review on Amazon? What if you hurt the author’s feelings? Better just to stick with your partial copy and enjoy the rest of the story.

I wondered about the explorers who’d sailed their ships to the end of the world. How terrified they must have been when they risked falling over the edge; how amazed to discover, instead, places they had seen only in their dreams.

Was it the act of giving birth that made you a mother? Did you lose that label when you relinquished your child? If people were measured by their deeds, on the one hand, I had a woman who had chosen to give me up; on the other, I had a woman who’d sat up with me at night when I was sick as a child, who’d cried with me over boyfriends, who’d clapped fiercely at my law school graduation. Which acts made you more of a mother? Both, I realised. Being a parent wasn’t just about bearing a child. It was about bearing witness to its life.

Choices are funny things – ask a native tribe that’s eaten grubs and roots forever if they’re unhappy, and they’ll shrug. But give them filet mignon and truffle sauce and then ask them to go back to living off the land, and they will always be thinking of that gourmet meal. If you don’t know there’s an alternative, you can’t miss it.

Besides the obvious difference, there was not much distinction between losing a best friend and losing a lover: it was all about intimacy. One moment, you had someone to share your biggest triumphs and fatal flaws with; the next minute, you had to keep them bottled inside. One moment, you’d start to call her to tell her a snippet of news or to vent about your awful day before realising you did not have that right anymore; the next, you could not remember the digits of her phone number.

I think you can love a person too much.

You put someone up on a pedestal, and all of a sudden, from that perspective, you notice what's wrong - a hair out of place, a run in a stocking, a broken bone. You spend all your time and energy making it right, and all the while, you are falling apart yourself. You don't even realize what you look like, how far you've deteriorated, because you only have eyes for someone else.

Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was...

...Parents aren't the people you come from. They're the people you want to be, when you grow up.

People always say that, when you love someone, nothing in the world matters. But that's not true, is it? You know, and I know, that when you love someone, everything in the world matters a little bit more.

But love wasn’t about sacrifice, and it wasn’t about falling short of someone’s expectations. By definition, love made you better than good enough; it redefined perfection to include your traits, instead of excluding them. All any of us wanted, really, was to know that we counted. That someone else’s life would not have been as rich without us here.

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

2010-06-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.

Up In The Air

---------------------------

I love you, and when you love someone, you do things for them without complaining about it.

Nobody looks into the face of a newborn son and imagines all the things that will go wrong in his life. Instead, you see nothing but possibility.

Sometimes the hardest thing to hear is the truth.

In reality, you don’t ever change the hurricane. You just learn how to stay out of its path.

Instead of dreaming of a miracle, you learn to make your own.

The brain of a person in love doesn’t look like the brain of someone overcome by deep emotion. It looks like the brain of a person who’s been snorting coke.

So much time is spent with people superficially. You remember all the fun you had but nothing specific.

When you expect something, you’re sure to be disappointed. I learned that a long time ago.

Don’t you wish love was so strong it could come back to haunt you?

Logical thinking keeps you from wasting your time worrying, or hoping. It prevents disappointment. Imagination, on the other hand, only gets you hyped up over things that will never realistically happen.

Numbers make sense. You cannot say the same about people.

The division between an observer and a participant is nearly invisible; you can cross it before you even know you’ve stepped over the line.

If you ever find yourself arguing with a woman, try kissing her to throw her off her guard. If you are in the middle of a battle and your buddy is shot, friendship means you have to go back under fire to rescue him.

I am the first person to tell you that I do not understand love. How can you love your new haircut, love your new job, and love your girlfriend all at once? Clearly the word doesn’t mean the same thing in different situations, which is why I have never been able to figure it out with logic.

Dead isn’t angels or ghosts. It’s a physical state of breakdown, a change in all those carbon atoms that create the temporary house of a body so that they can return to their most elemental stage. I don’t really see why that freaks people out, since it’s the most natural cycle in the world.

Living with regrets is like driving a car that only moves in reverse.

People don’t just disappear. There’s always a reason, or an enemy with a grudge. There’s always a loose thread that starts to unravel.

Parenting isn’t a noun but a verb- an ongoing process instead of an accomplishment. And no matter how many years you put into the job, the learning curve is always flat.

There’s no way to explain to a child that the line between good and evil isn’t nearly as black and white as a fairy tale would leave you to believe. That an ordinary person can turn into a villain, under the right circumstances. That sometimes we dragon slayers do things we aren’t proud of.

Motherhood is a Sisyphean task. You finish sewing one seam shut, and another rips open. I have come to believe that this life I’m living will never really fit.

Sometimes I think the human heart is just a simple shelf. There’s only so much you can pile onto it before something falls off an edge and you are left to pick up the pieces.

You might be able to sense that a catastrophe is imminent; you might feel the faintest mist on your face. But even when you see that wall of water rushing towards you, you know you are powerless to budge an inch.

When you find the person you’re supposed to love, bells ring and fireworks go off in your head and you can’t find the words to speak and you think about her all the time. When you find the person you are supposed to love, you will know by staring deeply into her eyes.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

2010-05-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

Which fundamentals will lead their believers to be the most loving and receptive to those with whom they differ? Which set of unavoidably exclusive beliefs will lead us to humble, peace-loving behaviour?

Why would such an exclusive belief system lead to behaviour that was so open to others? It was because Christians had within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practising sacrificial service, generosity and peace-making. At the very heart of their view of reality was a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Relfection on this could only lead to a radically different way of dealing with those who were different from them. It meant they could not act in violence and oppression toward their opponents.

It is not a religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life. That is metanoia [repenteance]: not in the first place thinking about one's own needs, problems, sins and fears, but allowing oneself to be caught up into the way of Jesus Christ ... Pain is a holy angel. Through him men have become greater than through all the joys of the world ... The pain of longing, which often can be felt physically, must be there, and we shall not and need not talk it away. But it needs to be overcome every time, and thus there is an even holier angel than the one of pain, that is the one of joy in God.

Imagine trying to look directly at the sun in order to learn about it. You can't do it. It will burn out your retinas, ruining your capacity to take it in. A far better way to learn about the existence, power and quality of the sun is to look at the world it shows you, to recognise how it sustains everything you see and enables you to see it.

We should not try to 'look into the sun', as it were, demanding irrefutable proofs for God. Instead we should 'look what the sun shows us.' Which account of the world has the most 'explanatory power' to make sense of what we see in the world and in ourselves? We have a sense that the world is not the way it ought to be. We have a sense that we are very flawed and yet very great. We have a longing for love and beauty that nothing in this world can fulfill. We have a deep need to know meaning and purpose. Which worldview best accounts for these things?

Christians do not claim that their faith gives them omniscience or absolute knowledge of reality. Only God has that. But they believe that the Christian account of things – creation, fall, redemption and restoration – makes the most sense of the world.

If the God of the Bible exists, he is not the man in the attic, but the Playwright. That means we won't be able to find him like we would find a passive object with the powers of empirical investigation. Rather, we must find the clues to his reality that he has written into the universe, including into us. That is why, if God exists, we would expect to find that he appeals to our rational faculties. If we were made 'in his image' as rational, personal beings, there should be some resonance between his mind and ours. It also means that reason alone won't be enough. The Playwright can only be known through personal revelation.

For many years I looked at life like a case at law. It was a series of proofs. When you’re young you prove how brave you are, or smart; then, what a good lover; then, a good father; finally, how wise, or powerful. But underlying it all, I see now, there was a presumption. That one moved...on an upward path towards some elevation, where...I would be justified, or even condemned. A verdict anyway. I think now that my disaster really began I looked up one day...and the bench was empty. No judge in sight. And all that remained was the endless argument with oneself, this pointless litigation of existence before an empty bench...which of course, is another way of saying – despair.

If our highest goal in life is the good of our family, then we will tend to care less for other families. If our highest goal is the good of our nation, tribe or race, then w will tend to be racist or nationalistic. If our ultimate goal in life is our own individual happiness, then we will put our economic and power interests ahead of those of others. Only if God is our summum bonum, our ultimate good and life centre, will we find our heart drawn out not only to people of all families, races and classes, but to the whole world in general.

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

2010-05-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes they seemed to remember the old love, and realise that is was still there, unchanged and as strong as ever. And sometimes they forgot.

When they are babies you can revel in them, you can kiss their cheek as hard as you dare and get drunk on their smell and the velveteen sheen of their skin. When your children are babies, you can get stoned on the incredible living fact of them. That all changes as they grow. You hold them. And one day you realise you have stopped holding them.

I realised by the time they are in their teens, you can let years drift by without really touching them. The physical expression of your love – the hugs, the kisses, the way you are allowed to touch their hair – all disappears. When Rufus and I came into shy, fleeting contact now – the hurried hug, the awkward kiss, those gestures of habit more than feeling – it was like an electric shock from the button of a lift, and we immediately recoiled with an alarm.

It’s hard to be the parent who always says no. it’s hard to be the one who always spoils the fun, who always urges caution, who always tries to keep their family out of the emergency ward and the police cells and the mortuary. But that’s the role that you seem to have forced upon me lately. I never wanted that role. You lot made me take it.

There comes a moment when you don’t recognise them. At the start, you have all this unconditional love. It’s as if you never knew you had that kind of love inside you that you were capable of feeling that strongly, that deeply. That much love. But then it changes, it changes almost without you noticing that it’s changed. Suddenly it feels like the connection to the past has been broken. It’s as brutal as that. As final as that. You just don’t recognise them any more. It’s as if they are a different person – I mean, quite literally, someone else. And that’s the big problem. How do you keep loving someone when they are no longer the same person? It’s not that you don’t love them. It’s worse than that. You don’t even know them.

Because there are times in your life when the possibility that you could ever get hurt simply does not cross your mind. Fleeting moments of freedom when you just feel immortal. When you know that nothing in this world can touch you. That, I thought, is the very best thing about being.

Starting Over by Tony Parsons

2010-04-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

But why must everything always have a practical application? I'd been such a diligent soldier for years – working, producing, never missing a deadline, taking care of my loved ones, my gums and my credit record, voting etc. Is this lifetime supposed to be only about duty?

When you're lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realise you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wondered a few feet off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it's time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don't even know from which direction the sun rises anymore.

Could I have survived myself, by myself? I don't know. That's the thing about a human life – there's no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed.

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it. His purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of that marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you had to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it.

This is what we are like. Collectively, as a species, this is our emotional landscape. There are two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? And Who's in charge? Everything else is somehow manageable. But these two questions of love and control undo us all, trip us up and cause war, grief and suffering.

Prayer is a relationship; half the job is mine. If I want transformation, but can't even be bothered to articulate what, exactly, I'm aiming for, how will it ever occur? Half the benefit of prayer is in the asking itself, in the offering of a clearly posed and well-considered intention. If you don't have this, all your pleas and desires are boneless, floppy, inert; they swirl at your feet in a cold fog and never lift. So now I take the time every morning to search myself for specificity about what I am truly asking for.

Destiny, I feel, is also a relationship - a play between divine grace and willful self-effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he's a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horses - one foot is on the horse called 'fate' and the other on the horse called 'free will'. And the question you have to ask every day is - which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort?

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments.

Why does suffering never end? Why must everything be repeated and repeated, never finishing, never resting? You work so hard one day, but the next day, you must only work again. You eat, but the next day, you are already hungry. You find love, then love goes away. You are born with nothing - no watch, no T-shirt. You are young, then you are old. No matter how hard you work, you cannot stop getting old.

Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

2010-04-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have not been fair to him; if anything, I'm guilty of the same offense: trying to keep the life we had from being ruined. Is it a crime when you love someone so much that you can't stand the thought of them changing? Is it a crime when you love someone so much that you can't see them clearly?

Twenty-eight years is a long time to think about why I loved you, and it's not for the reasons I first assumed: because you swam in the space below my heart; or because you stanched the youth I was bleeding out daily; or because one day you might take care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. Love is not an equation, as your father once wanted me to believe it. It's not a contract, and it's not a happy ending. It is the slate under the chalk and the ground buildings rise from and the oxygen in the air. It is the place I come back to, no matter where I've been headed. I loved you, Bethany, because you were the one relationship I never had to earn. You arrived in this world loving me more, even when I did not deserve it.

Bad is not an absolute, but a relative term. Ask the robber who used the cask he stole to feed his infant; the rapist who was sexually abused as a child; the kidnapper who truly believed he was saving a life. And just because you break the law doesn't mean you have intentionally crossed the line into evil. Sometimes the line creeps up on you, and before you know it, you're standing on the other side.

What if memories get stored in the brain, and they aren't even necessarily ones we've had? What if we're hardwired with a whole iceberg of experiences, and our minds use only a tip of them?

Memories aren't stored in the heart or the head or even the soul, if you ask me, but in the spaces between any given two people.

At that moment, everything comes clear. It's like having someone walk up to a chalky window that you've been trying to see through for days, and wiping it clean. Some people have a detailed history, others don't. There are plenty of adopted children who grow up without knowing an once of information about their birth parents; there are criminals who walk out of jail and become pillars of the community. At any moment, a person can start over. And that's not half a life, but simply a real one.

It is also a terrifying prospect: that the relationships we use as the cornerstones of our personalities are not given by default but are a choice; that it's all right to feel closer to a friend than we do to a parent; that someone who's betrayed us in the past might be the same person with whom we build a future.

If it had been easy for Romeo to get Juliet, nobody would have cared. Same goes for Cyrano and Don Quixotye and Gatsby and their respective paramours. What captures the imagination is watching men throw themselves at a brick wall over and over again, and wondering if this is the time that they won't be able to get back up. For everyone who adores a happy ending, there's someone else who cannot help but rubberneck at the accident on the side of the road.

You wonder, though, what would have happened if Juliet's best friend started flirting with Romeo. If Gatsby got drunk one night and told Daisy how he really felt. If any of those poor romantic fools would have driven hours north to the Hopi reservation and doubled back, the word sucker fizzing like acid in their bellies as they sneaked glances across the car at the woman they loved, knowing she was going home to another man.

Could it really be that simple? Could romantic love and platonic love and parental love all be different facets of the same diamond – brilliant, no matter which face is turned up to the sun?

There are two kinds of love. In the safe kind, you look for someone who's exactly like you. It's what most folks settle for. But then there's the other kind of love. Everyone's born with a ragged edge, and some folks crave the piece that's a perfect fit. You'll search for it forever, if you have to. And if you're lucky enough to find it, it looks so right, you start to tear at your own seams, thinking, maybe I could look just as perfect. But then of course, when you try to get close to the other half, you don;t fit anymore. That kind of love ... you come out of it a different person than you were when you started.

I realise, suddenly, that everyone is a liar. Memories are like a still life painted by ten different student artists: some will be blue-based; others red; some will be as stark as Picasso and others as rick as Rembrandt; some will be foreshortened and others distant. Recollections are in the eye of the beholder; no two held up side by side will ever quite match.

The only way someone can leave you is if you let them. And I'm not doing that. It may look like that today, or tomorrow, or even a month from now, but one day you're going to wake up and see that this whole time you've been gone, you've only been headed back to where you started. And I'll be there, waiting. I'm just trusting you enough to come back.

What if it turns out that a life isn't defined by who you belong to or where you came from, by what you wished for or whom you've lost, but instead by the moment you spend getting from each of these places to the next?

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

2010-03-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

I learned a lot that night. For example, that part of being the magician's assistant means coming face-to-face with illusion. That invisibility is really just knotting your body in a certain way and letting the black curtain fall over you. That people don't vanish into thin air; that when you can't find someone, it's because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere.

I think it is a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is. (Vladimer Nabokov)

But a witness is defined through what he sees, not what he says, And just because you keep something a secret doesn't mean it never happened, no matter how much you want that to be true.

You can boil your life down to a single suitcase, if you desperately have to. Ask yourself what you really need and it won't be what you imagine - you will easily toss aside unfinished work, and bills, and your daily calendar to make room for the pair of flannel pajamas you wear when it rains, and the stone your child gave you that is shaped like a heart, and the battered paperback you revisit every April, because it was what you were reading the first time you fell in love. It turns out that what's important is not everything that you've accumulated all these years, but those few things you can carry with you.

Sometimes, when you don't ask questions, it's not because you are afraid that someone will lie to your face. It's because you're afraid they'll tell you the truth.

You think you know the world you are living in. If you can feel it, and touch it, and smell it, and taste it, then it must be so. You tell yourself that you would bet your life on the simple fact that the sky is blue. And then one day someone comes along and informs you empathetically that you're wrong. Blue, you insist. Blue as the ocean. Blue as a whale. Blue as my daughter's eyes. But that person shakes his head, and everyone else backs him up. You poor girl, they say. All of those things - the ocean, the whale, her eyes - they're green. You've gotten them mixed up. You've had it wrong all along.

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

2010-03-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

We are all miracles. What were the odds against a life? Any life? All of our lives? When you thought of all the untold billions of sperm that fell on the stony ground, and the eggs beyond number that were destined to make their lonely journey unfertilised, and the virtual impossibility of any sperm and any egg ever meeting, it was a wonder that anyone ever got born at all. Every last one of us is a walking miracle.

We agree what it takes to get you. But what does it take to keep you? The baby. And the love for the baby - this big love, the biggest, the love of your life. You can't imagine how big that love is, you can't guess at the love inside you that pours out when you have a child. That's why you stay. It's so easy to walk away when there's no baby. You just go. There's no anchor, no ball and chain. But then there's a baby and it's impossible.

Paulo believed in romance. He believed that love could last a lifetime. He still believed that he could have it all with Jessica. He believed in Jessica and himself as a couple, despite all that aching longing for something they had never had, despite the sadness, and the secret tears behind closed doors, and the hurt that chewed them up alive when his mother yet again smiled and yet again asked them when they were going to start a family - as though the pair of them were currently just a cheap impersonation of a family.

You can love a baby without even knowing her. But not an adult. You can't love an adult without knowing them, can you? You can't even like them very much.

How much can you give up for the person you love, and still keep loving them?

This is the best thing in the world. But he didn't have the words to tell her that the baby also measured out the distance of his life, that little he or little she was a reminder of his own mortality, and nature's way of telling him that everything in this world comes to an end.

The Family Way by Tony Parsons

------------------------------------------------

Every sunrise, speaks of your unfailing love

Every nightfall, your faithfulness

(Everything Within Me)

The universe is at Your feet, gives You praise evermore

The stars will light the sky for You

Always, God be praised

(I Adore)

2010-03-05T02:12:00.000-08:00

But if you believe that you can recognise someone you have never met before, if you believe that there is just one person in the world for you, if you believe that there's only one other human being out there who you can love, truly love, for a lifetime - and I believe all of these things - then it follows that there's no point in pretending that tomorrow is another day and all that crap. Because I've had my chance.

Personally I don't believe you can steal one human being from another. You can't steal people... People are funny. They just slip away.

It's strange the way the loss of one person can leave such a giant hole in the middle of your life. It's not as if the hole they leave behind feels like the size of another human being. It feels more like the size of a world.

What did Rose see in me? She could have had the pick of any lipless wonder in her firm's office. Why did she choose me?

Because I'm a nice guy. That doesn't sound like much - it sounds like the kind of thing that women say they want, just before they go off with the spunky hunk in his Maserati. But Rose wanted a nice guy. And she picked me.

It's true. I was a nice guy. I always fell in love with the women I slept with, even when love was neither requested nor appropriate. I could never fuck around without feeling. A lot of the things that young men do without thinking were beyond me. Because I had listened to too many Sinatra records. Because I always wanted a trip to the moon on gossamer wings rather than a quick shag. Because I was looking for the one.

She saw something in me. Something that was worthy of love.

But niceness is finite. It's like money and youth. It ebbs away when you are not looking. It leaks out of you. Look at me now. I'm nowhere near as nice as I used to be.

I don't want to give up on life and love and all the rest of it, but I can't help myself. It's because life and love and all the rest of it have given me a good hiding. Life has made me feel like death warmed up.

I've lost my faith and I don't know how I can ever get it back. Because I still miss someone. And because I will always miss her.

Is that okay, Rose? Is it okay to miss you?

The airport is awash with real emotion today. Lovers saying goodbye and being reunited. Families are separating and coming back together. There are lots of hugs and laughter and tears. The departure gate is pretty interesting but the arrivals hall is even better, because you can't do it in your own time at arrivals. You can't decide when it's time to say hello in quite the same way that you can decide it's time to say goodbye. Hello just happens. The people anxiously waiting for someone don't know when that face is suddenly going to appear before them, slowly pushing a trolley, smiling through the jet lag, ready for a kiss and a cuddle, ready to begin again.

You think that you will watch someone die with something like horror, then you watch them die with nothing but love. Because somehow the horror passes, all the black feelings caused by the thousand unspeakable indignities of cancer, or at least you learn to exist with it all. But the love remains, and it overwhelms the fear and sadness and loss, that terrible sense of loss that is worse than everything.

But loving someone is not the same as liking them, is it? It's not the same as just accepting them for what they are. Love's all right, I guess. I don't know too much about all that. I'll settle for just being liked.

It's funny. You love something and then one day it's suddenly gone or changed or lost forever. But somehow that doesn't stop your love. Maybe that's how you know it's the real thing. When it doesn't come with conditions and get-out clauses, when it doesn't have a best-by date. When you just give your love, and never stop giving it, and know that you never will. That's when it's real. That's when they can never touch it or spoil it or take it away from you.

One For My Baby by Tony Parsons

2010-02-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

2010-02-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

Inside the snow globe on my father's desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf. When I was little my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe. He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect on the top, then quickly invert it. The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin. The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him. When I told my father this, he said, "Don't worry Susie; he has a nice life. He's trapped in a perfect world."

Our heartache poured into one another like water from cup to cup. Each time I told my story, I lost a bit, the smallest drop of pain. It was that day that I knew I wanted to tell the story of my family. Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like the flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained.

These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections — sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent — that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were merely the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life.

So there are cakes and pillows and colours galore, but underneath this more obvious patchwork quilt are places like a quiet room where you can go and hold someone's hand and not have to say anything. Give no story. Make no claim. Where you can live at the edge of your skin for as long as you wish. This wide wide Heaven is about flathead nails and the soft down of new leaves, wild rollercoaster rides and escaped marbles that fall then hang then take you somewhere you could never have imagined in your small-heaven dreams.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

2010-02-14T04:16:00.001-08:00

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.

Love doesn't strut,

Doesn't have a swelled head,

Doesn't force itself on others,

Isn't always "me first,"

Doesn't fly off the handle,

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn't revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

1 Corinthians 13:1-10 (MSG)

2010-02-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

Vision Sunday 2010 from Hillsong Church on Vimeo.

2010-02-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here is Love

Here is love, vast as the ocean
Lovingkindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days

On the mount of crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast a gracious tide
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

Chorus:
No love is higher, no love is wider
No love is deeper, no love is truer
No love is higher, no love is wider
No love is like Your love, o Lord

2010-02-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

And he left, knowing that he now had the reason to never go back, to never see her again, and to finally get her out of his blood, and out of his life. In the end it was so obvious. He should have expected it all along.

A new man. Of course. What else?

He wondered how he could ever have been so dumb, how he could ever have believed that she was really any different to him. She was just another girl. She was just another woman. How could it possibly end any other way? She had met some new guy. Right. Of course. He almost laughed. But somehow the banality of it all was impossible to grasp.

A new man, when she had told him that there would never be another man, and that she would love him until the day she died. All that stuff that they put in the songs. All the lies they tell you and you are so eager to believe.

Only you, for ever and ever, like one of the old songs. That's what she had told him, that's what had come out of the mouth he knew so well, and he had believed her, and it made his life impossible because it meant he could never give her up. It meant that one day and someday and somehow they would be together, because there was no escaping the other. They were bound together like two mountaineers. But now she had broken the bond.

He had been told that they did not feel love in the way that he felt love, that they responded to acts of kindness and generosity with all their body and heart, but that was not love, they told him, not in the Western sense of the one true one, the partner for life, the unmet lover found at last. Not love like that, like love back home, the way that it was meant to be, they said. Not real love the way it was made in the West.

They were just so practical when it came to love, they told him until he believed it, until he could see what they meant, and he could see that we in the West were not practical at all - we simply fell, we just took the giddy step over the cliff and landed where our wayward hearts took us.

The East was practical. The East could not afford to love. The West was romantic. Because the West could afford to love.

And perhaps she said it because she felt it too - the terrible finality of the ending, of letting it go, and she wanted him to stay for just a few more seconds, because they both knew they would never see each other again after today, and all they would ever share now was the past and whatever photographs that she had been unable to destroy.

My Favourite Wife by Tony Parsons

2010-02-05T23:23:00.000-08:00

But when one of them goes - when one of them walks out - then you feel so worthless. You just feel so worthless, and I don't think you every get over it. I think a part of you always feels worthless, as if you deserved it, as if you made it happen, as if it happened because you were bad.

He had thought on their wedding day that the rings they exchanged would last them a lifetime. Now he saw that wedding rings get lost, they get stolen, they get thrown in anger. Now he saw that you might get through any number of wedding rings in a marriage. Now he found it difficult that he had never been as young as he was on their wedding day, young enough to believe that you only need one wedding ring.

Was it over?

Not until he could harden his heart and stop seeing her, not until she stopped loving him as if there was something special about him, not until she stopped loving him as if he was a good man.

Not until she stopped loving him all the time. Not until he knew that she would be just fine without him. Not until he could think about what was going to happen to her without being worried sick.

It would never over until then.

2010-02-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

They didn't say 'I love you' very often. They were not one of those married couples that felt the need to say it every day. But it came out when they realised what they had, and they were grateful, and they were wise enough to count their blessings.

Love the earth and the sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labour for others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning god, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men.

What if the problem was not trying to meet someone great, but that you would meet a lot of great people? What if the problem was not finding someone worthy of love, but meeting an endless number of people who were worthy of love? What then? Was that a blueprint for a happy life? Or a recipe for disaster?

When he kissed her it was a good fit. In fact their mouths fit together perfectly. There was usually something wrong with the way mouths fit together, he thought. Tongues too active or passive, lips too hard or wet, teeth that got in the way. Noses all over the place. But not with her.

His parents had made it look easy. You find someone and then you stick with them forsaking all others until you are parted by the grave. You kept all the big promises you had made in bed an in church and on all the days you would never forget. That's what you did, and your life was simple, and the future was clear. It did not seem impossible, unimaginable.

If it's possible for me to come back and be around you, then that's exactly what I am going to do, and I'll be there for ever. Everywhere you go. You'll be all grown up but I'll still be there. I'll be in the sunlight on your face, and I'll be in rain on your shoes, and I'll be in the wind in your hair. I'll be there when you wake up in the morning and I'll be there when you go to sleep at night. And I'll keep watch by your bed all night, and you will feel me smiling and you, and you'll never be alone because I will be there, always and forever.

Too many people loved the old man to let him die alone. But the old man had his own family behind him, the brothers who were still alive, and the widows of the ones who were not, and Bill saw that there were many people who loved the old man because of who he was, and without the obligation of blood. They all came, and there was a sad grandeur to these final days in the hospital, as if all the friends and neighbours and work mates of a lifetime had to be gathered here, in this special place, to show they cared and to say goodbye.

My Favourite Wife by Tony Parsons

2010-02-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

2010-01-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

Could you really love someone who was capable of falling in love with somebody else?

What if love wasn't the act of finding what you were missing but the give and take that made you both match?

It was possible that a miracle was not something that happened to you, but rather something that didn't.

Relationships always sounded so physically painful: You fell in love, you broke a heart, you lost your head. Was it any wonder that people came through the experience with battle scars? The problem with a marriage - or maybe its strength - was that it spanned a distance, and you were never the same person you started out being. If you were lucky, you could still recognise each other years later. If you weren't, you wound up in your office with a boy fifteen years younger than you were, pouring his heart into your open hands.

When you loved someone, you did whatever you thought was in her best interests, even if - at the time - it looked utterly wrong. Men did this for women, mothers did it for sons. What made a hero a hero? Was it winning all the time, like Superman? Or was it taking on the risk reluctantly, like Spider Man? Was it learning, like the X-Men had, that at any moment you might fall from grace to become a villain? Or, like Alan Moore's Rorschach, was it being human enough to enjoy watching people die, if they deserved it?

It was no coincidence that fear could move a person to extremes, just as seamlessly as love. They were the conjoined twins of emotion: If you didn't know what was at stake to lose, you had nothing to fight for.

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

2010-01-30T04:54:00.001-08:00

2010-01-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love,

but that doesn't mean that you love them any less,

sometimes it even makes you love them more.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

2010-01-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

They say a story loses something with each telling. If that is the case, this story has lost nothing, for it’s the ﬁrst time it’s been told.

This story is one for which some people will have to suspend their disbelief. If this wasn’t happening to me, I would be one of those people.

Many won’t struggle to believe it, though, for their minds have been opened; unlocked by whatever kind of key causes

people to believe. Those people are either born that way or, as babies, when their minds are like little buds, they are

nurtured until their petals slowly open and prepare for the very nature of life to feed them. As the rain falls and the sun shines, they grow, grow, grow; minds so open, they go through life aware and accepting, seeing light where

there’s dark, seeing possibility in dead ends, tasting victory as others spit out failure, questioning when others accept.

Just a little less jaded, a little less cynical. A little less likely to throw in the towel. Some people’s minds open later in life, through tragedy or triumph. Either thing can act as the key to unlatch and lift the lid on that know-it-all box, to

accept the unknown, to say goodbye to pragmatism and straight lines.

But then there are those whose minds are merely a bouquet of stalks, which bud as they learn new information – a new

bud for a new fact – but yet they never open, never ﬂourish. They are the people of capital letters and full stops, but never

of question marks and ellipses ...

Cecelia Ahern - 'The Book of Tomorrow'

2010-01-09T04:39:00.000-08:00

"You can surrender without a prayer, but never really pray without surrender. You can fight without ever winning, but never really win without a fight."

-Neil Peart

2010-01-02T16:57:00.001-08:00

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give thanks

We give thanks to You oh Lord
We give thanks

2010-01-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

2010-01-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

2010-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

THE CHURCH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

She is the plan of God on earth; always in her Father's eye: Cherished, mysterious, beautiful and potent beyond measure: King empowered and life infused. She emerges triumphant; limitless with potential; a harbour for the hopeless and an answer for the ages: The church resplendent - a bride for His Son.

She is the body of Christ on earth; born, like her Head, amidst tribulation, under jealous skies. Cradled in her innocence and guarded for His purpose. She grows in wisdom and stature with victory on her lips and freedom in her hands. Hers is an unstoppable cause. She embraces the world with dignity, honour and compassion; gives vision to the sightless and life to the dying.

She is the family of God on earth. Within her compass, the hungry find sustenance and the weary receive strength. She is a haven for recovering humanity, enthralled by grace. She invites the broken, the vulnerable and the outcast to be immersed in love. She stands imperfect but perfection resides within her. She is flawed but is washed with forgiveness. She has a treasury of faith and a wealth of belonging.

She is the house of heaven on earth: A representative, resolute to reconcile. The Word within her accepts the receptive but challenges the heartless. She is the ecclesia, called out to serve the world: Calling out to welcome in. Blood-washed and armed with testimony, the cross on her lips liberates the chained and offends the unchanging. Like her Master she is pursued and persecuted. Yet she rises with strength in her heart and fire in her soul.

She is the bride of Christ on earth; readying herself for the day when all eyes will be upon her. Prepared and presented before the Lord: The Lamb for whom the world waits, who comes like the rising sun, majestic and magnificent beyond description, while she dazzles with reflected glory. Spotless, perfect and mature, she bows low to cast her crowns and passionately worship Him. Her temporal focus becomes her eternal gaze. She is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

- by Robert Fergusson

2009-12-31T17:41:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve we learn something about time we can never learn in any other way. Then we look at our watch or clock quite differently from any other day of our lives. Usually we glance at our watch in order to see what time we should be at a certain place, or whether we are going to make an appointment on time. But on New Year's Eve we suddenly, look at it, not in order to move ourselves, but because we become aware of the fact that time itself is moving.

We become quite aware, as the midnight hour approaches, that time is moving continually on and that we can never go back, that what we have been will unalterably remain, forever. It can never be changed. We can never retrace our steps nor refill the contents of the past with something either better or worse. It remains exactly what it was. Perhaps last year we made a wrong decision or got married (the two are not necessarily linked) or entered into some new project or achieved some goal. Whatever it was, that has now become an unchangeable part of our destiny, our lot. It is irrevocably the same, it can never be changed. God's grace has moved him to bear certain effects of our misdeeds himself, but they remain for him to bear and are never dissipated into nothingness.

Ray Stedman

2009-12-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

Helen, her grace exceeded that of queens'

Her love equaled that of saints

Roses envied the fragrances her presence breathed

Her head held high in Christ

She walked taller than trees

She stooped not for fools

Yet bent her back for the burden of the broken

Helen kept easy company with the great

Yet walked with the lonely

Her serving spirit bathed friends and family with milky kindness

Her furnished table feeds thousands

Preparing her food garnished with love

Her ears listened without a price

Never tiring and judging

Everyone knew she was their friend

Helen flowed like a stream giggling

In harmony with those who loved

Sobbing tears with those who cried

Helen trusted, Helen the truest of friends

Armed with glittering love her sword

She brought down the proud with mounting kindness

But in her war she triumphed again and again and yet again

Until the one she loved above all, Jesus, whispered her name

And called her to Himself

She graced His house from the start to the end

His house was her home and hers was His

Her love for His Word, His people

His house exceeded only by her love for Him

God's only Son who had saved her

Her foot landed softly and the earth kissed her feet

Helen remains a picture for all daughters to view

Her life - the very reachable, the very touchable

Lift up your eyes, daughters of the church

Yes you men take heed also

Of a life born of Heaven, lived as she lived

And you'll receive a crown as she has beyond here

But I know selfless Helen, already she has given it to another

She gave her whole life to others

She lived the keys of God's Kingdom

Laying down her life for her family and friends

Maybe you're the one to live a life like hers

So a lost world can see Jesus

So a lost world can see how to live

Helen, though dead, yet speaks

A life in Heaven, delighting in dance, singing with her King

Hopeful that you and I hear her message, her life

And even to live a shadow will suffice

This would be your best way to honour a life pleasing to God

Helen

2009-12-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.

"The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls were connected. Maybe they always have and will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've been forced apart for the same reasons. That means that this goodbye is both goodbye for the past ten thousand years and a prelude to what will come.

When i look at you, i see your charm and your gentleness and know they hve grown stronger with every life you have lived. And i know i have spent every life before this one searching for you. not someone like you, but you, for your soul and mine must always come together. And then, for some reason neither of us understands we were forced to to say goodbye.

I would love to tell you that everything will work out for us, And i promise to do all i can to make sure it does. But if we never meet again and this is truly goodbye, I know we will see each other again in another life. We will find each other again and maybe the stars will have changed, and we will not only love each other in that time but for all the times we had before."

Nicholas Sparks

2009-12-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

"I think you can use up your love. I think you can blow it all on one person. You can love so much, so deeply, that there is nothing left for anyone else. You could give it all the time in the world, and I would never find someone to fill the gap that she has left. Because how do you find a substitute for the love of your life? And why would you want to?

And perhaps I could learn to live with it if I could resist this ridiculous urge to phone her. Things would be more bearable if I could remember, really remember, that she's gone and never forget it."

"It's funny. You love something and then one day it's suddenly gone or changed or lost forever. But somehow that doesn't stop your love. Maybe that's how you know it's the real thing. When it doesn't come with conditions and get-out clauses, when it doesn't have a best-by date. When you just give your love and never stop giving it and know that you never will. That's when it is real. That's when they can never touch it or spoil it or take it away from you."

One for my Baby by Tony Parsons

-----------------

what if what life served were not 'end products' but rather intermediates and transition states. will we still strive toward the finish line with the same level of perseverance and anticipation?

2009-12-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

broader perspectives // the end product of reflux

We're all on Earth to fulfil God's greater plan and that we're not actually left with a choice whether or not we should follow it. What if beyond the fact that we could not choose who we're born to, where we're born in, what socio-economic background we have had, there was indeed a choice as to whether we were born on Earth or somewhere else, which perhaps could better justify our existence? Would that leave, say, a better or more significant legacy, if it could actually be measured?

Suppose 1+1 = 2 (as we all know), but the equation of life is actually 1+0 = 0, and that we are the ‘1’ in the equation. Where does that place us? Does it indicate that despite the trials and tribulations that life throws at us, we eventually end up living for nothing more than ourselves, or do we live for others? Are these even mutually exclusive in the first place? The thought that our lives actually resonated for absolutely null and that it disappeared on the surface of the Earth almost as transient and fleeting as it had appeared. On retrospect, doesn’t life’s challenges consist of the recurrent relation that swings from improvisation and repetition of one’s mistakes indefinitely? If so, where is the true benchmark and yardstick for what one deems as success?

And do we really think we know one another? Looking at something from a whole new perspective, a new paradigm does indeed provide us a ‘soothing and refreshing’ take on what actually matters of relationships. Why should there be the collision between two distant people when in actual fact, mutual reciprocity finds it ever so difficult to gain a foothold in relationships? How then can relationships be built on a solid foundation that will not be shaken, especially among people you truly care about, thereby imploring one to question the rationale behind relationships in the first place and the heartbreaks that often accompany them in the not too distant future, when suddenly, by a twist of fate, people didn’t seem to matter to one another anymore.

-------------------------

thanks Victoria, Hannah, Katharine, Thomas, Stacy, Kenrick, Diana, Geraldine!

2009-12-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

QUIDAM

(sg.) "a certain", (pl.) "some", or "anonymous passerby" in Classical Latin

Your world is yours
not mine, Quidam.
Your dreams are yours.
You may have touched the stars
but they weren't moved.
And if you reach for me
I may not choose
to hold your hand.
I might smile
or I might turn away.

An ordinary man, Quidam.
I'm everyman.
I'm anyman.

Quidam, Quidam
la nuit recule.
D'un rÃªve Ã l'autre tu valses.
Du creux de toi
c'est bien le mal
qui dresse tes silences.

There's nothing left.
There's nothing right.
There's nothing wrong.
I'm one. I'm two.
I'm all yet none of you.
The truth the lie,
the tear, the laughter,
the hand and the empty touch.
Here I am alone
waiting for the curtain call.

An ordinary man, Quidam.
I'm everyman. T'es l'inconnu.
I'm anyman. T'es l'Ã©tranger.

Quidam, Quidam
la nuit recule.
D'un rÃªve Ã l'autre tu valses.
Du creux de toi
c'est bien le mal
qui dresse tes silences.

Bailo en este lienzo de dolor.
FunÃ mbulo sin mapa ni brÃ¹jula.
La dulce locura mi sÃ²lo refugio.
Nazco en la sombra del payaso.

Quidam, Quidam
la nuit recule.
D'un rÃªve Ã l'autre tu valses.
Du creux de toi
c'est bien le mal
qui dresse tes silences.

Quidam, Quidam
aux rives du rÃªve.
Au seuil de l'ombre, tu valses.
Autour de toi
c'est bien le mal
qui dresses tes silences.

Quidam, Quidam
la nuit recule.
D'un rÃªve Ã l'autre tu valses.
Du creux de toi
c'est bien le mal
qui dresse tes silences.

2009-12-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

"I, um, have this problem. I broke up with my boyfriend, you see. And I'm pretty upset about it, so I wanted to talk to my best friend. The thing is, they're both you."

The Pact

Do you know what it's like to give your whole self to a person, and your whole heart to boot, until you've got nothing left to give - and realise that it still isn't what they need?

The Pact

"Do you know what it's like to love someone so much, that you can't see yourself without picturing her? Or what it's like to touch someone and feel like you've come home? Some people spend their lives looking for that one person, I was lucky to have her all along."

The Pact

2009-12-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

So we see how it goes. Just another man and wife having trouble. But it seemed like the saddest thing that what we had right now was not good enough to stay for, and not bad enough to leave...

ONE DAY MORE

VALJEAN
One day more!
Another day, another destiny.
This never-ending road to Calvary;
These men who seem to know my crime
Will surely come a second time.
One day more!

MARIUS
I did not live until today.
How can I live when we are parted?

VALJEAN
One day more.

MARIUS & COSETTE
Tomorrow you'll be worlds away
And yet with you, my world has started!

EPONINE
One more day all on my own.

MARIUS & COSETTE
Will we ever meet again?

EPONINE
One more day with him not caring.

MARIUS & COSETTE
I was born to be with you.

EPONINE
What a life I might have known.

MARIUS & COSETTE
And I swear I will be true!

EPONINE
But he never saw me there!

ENJOLRAS
One more day before the storm!

MARIUS
Do I follow where she goes?

ENJOLRAS
At the barricades of freedom.

MARIUS
Shall I join my brothers there?

ENJOLRAS
When our ranks begin to form

MARIUS
Do I stay; and do I dare?

ENJOLRAS
Will you take your place with me?

ALL
The time is now, the day is here

VALJEAN
One day more!

JAVERT
One day more till revolution,
We will nip it in the bud!
We'll be ready for these schoolboys,
They will wet themselves with blood!

VALJEAN
One day more!

M. & MME. THENARDIER
Watch 'em run amuck,
Catch 'em as they fall,
Never know your luck
When there's a free for all,
Here a little `dip'
There a little `touch'
Most of them are goners
So they won't miss much!

Students (2 Groups)
1: One day to a new beginning

2: Raise the flag of freedom high!

1: Every man will be a king

2: Every man will be a king

1: There's a new world for the winning

2: There's a new world to be won

ALL
Do you hear the people sing?

MARIUS
My place is here, I fight with you!

VALJEAN
One day more!

MARIUS & COSETTE
I did not live until today.

EPONINE
One more day all on my own!

MARIUS & COSETTE
How can I live when we are parted?

JAVERT(overlapping)
I will join these people's heros
I will follow where they go
I will learn their little Secrets,
I will know the things they know.

VALJEAN
One day more!

MARIUS & COSETTE
Tomorrow you'll be worlds away

EPONINE
What a life I might have known!

MARIUS & COSETTE
And yet with you my world has started

JAVERT(overlapping)
One more day to revolution
We will nip it in the bud
We'll be ready for these

Schoolboys

THENARDIERS(overlapping)
Watch 'em run amok
Catch 'em as they fall
Never know your luck
When there's a free-for-all!

VALJEAN
Tomorrow we'll be far away,
Tomorrow is the judgement day

ALL
Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn
One more day
One day more!

2009-10-28T05:14:00.000-07:00

Mt Ruapehu | Taurewa, New Zealand | OPC

Mt Inspiration | Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia

When your wife is not the same person you fell in love with eight years ago, where exactly does that leave you? Do you try to get to know who she has become? And hope for the best? Or do you keep deceiving yourself in the hope that she might wake up one morning and have gone back to the woman she used to be?

Three Sisters | Prince Henry's Walk | Blue Moutains, Sydney, Australia

People think married couples who don't fight are the happiest but I sometimes wonder if it's just because they've kind of given up on each other, have settled for safe mediocrity.

We all deserve a second chance to find the love we crave, we all warrant another go at our happy ending, one final attempt to turn our life into something from one of those songs you loved so much.

2009-10-21T05:54:00.001-07:00

Find Us Faithful

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

REPEAT CHORUS

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

2009-08-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

Just let me say
How much I love you
Let me speak of your mercy and grace
Just let me live
In the shadow of your beauty
Let me see you face to face
and the earth will shake
as your word goes forth
And the heavens
can tremble and fall
but let me say how much I love you
O my savior, my Lord and friend

Just let me hear
your finest whispers
As you gently call my name
And let me see
Your power and your glory
Let me feel your spirit's flame
Let me find you in the desert
'Til this sand is holy ground
And I am found completely surrendered
To you, my Lord and friend

So let me say
how much I love you
With all my heart I long for you
For I am caught
in the passion of knowing
This endless love
I've found in you
And the depth of grace, the forgiveness found
To be called a child of God
Just makes me say
How much I love you
O my savior, my Lord and friend
Just makes me say
How much I love you
O my savior, my Lord and friend

2009-08-31T06:23:00.001-07:00

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay."

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!"

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world."

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

May your day be a Shay Day.

2009-08-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that.

But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?"

"Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."

Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!

"And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat -- not a toy one -- with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.

There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Bopsy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.

Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Bopsy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night in the hospital months later, all of Bopsy's vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Bopsy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition. The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy's third floor open window and five firefighters climbed up the ladder into Bopsy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him.

With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Yes, Bopsy, you are a fireman now," the chief said. With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes one last time. He passed away later that evening.

2009-08-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

GAP (RED) shirt

Harvard

Harvard Hoodie from Harvard Co-op

2009-07-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

Bob Marley

---------

it's the ones you love the most who can lift you in an instant and destroy you without trying

2009-07-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

One thing of great importance can affect a small number of people. Equally so, a thing of little importance can affect a multitude. Either way, a happening - big or small - can affect an entire string of people. Occurrences can join us all together. You see, we're all made up of the same stuff. When something happens, it triggers something inside us that connects us to a situation, connects us to other people, lighting us up and linking us like little lights on a Christmas tree, twisted and turned but still connected on a wire. Some go out, others flicker, others burn strong and bright, yet we're all on the same line.

-----------------------------------

A lesson finds the common denominator and links us all together, like a chain. At the end of that chain dangles a clock, and on the face of the clock the passing of time is registered. We hear it, the hushed tick-tock sound that breaks away any silence, and we see it, but often we don't feel it. Each second makes its mark on every single person's life; comes and then goes, quietly disappearing without fanfare, evaporating into air like steam from a piping hot Christmas pudding. Enough time leaves us warm; when our time is gone, it too leaves us cold. Time is more precious than gold, more precious than diamonds, more precious than oil or any valuable treasures. It is time that we do not have enough of; it is time that causes the war within our hearts, and so we must spend it wisely. Time cannot be packaged and ribboned and left under trees for Christmas morning.

Time can't be given. But it can be shared.

-'The Gift' by Cecelia Ahern

2009-06-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

What Will You Celebrate?

Oo oh, oo oh .. aah

Everyday is the right day
Its easy to understand
Cause you get the chance and you take it
Make it the best you can make it
Why should you hold back?
Its the time of your life
You it'sdon't want to miss out.
On right here and now
Theres so many reasons why
You dont wanna stop
Its your chance, live it up
And everything you do
Celebrate you (Oo oh)
Celebrate you (Oo oh)
Ah Everytime is the right time
So make every second count
Go for your dream, you can live it
Reach for the skies, no limit
Celebrate what youre all about
Ouuuuh!
Its the time of your life
You dont want him to stop
on right here and now
Theres so many reasons why
You dont wanna stop
Heres your chance, live it up
And everything you do
Celebrate you
You, come on, make the party last forever and ever
Have the best time youve ever had
Then go break free, yeah!
Celebrate you
Everyone has a reason (reason)
A reason to celebrate, yeah
Cause you get the chance and you take it
Make it the best you can make it
What you waiting for today?
Its the time of your life
You dont want him to stop
On right here and now
Theres so many reasons why
You dont wanna stopIts your chance, live it up
And everything you do

Celebrate you
Everybody now!
Celebrate celebrate
celebrate (Ooh)
And everything you do

Celebrate you

Celebrate you

Celebrate you

Celebrate you

----------------------------------------

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot

2009-06-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

I've learned...

By Omer B. Washington

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care,
some people just don’t care back.
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust
and only seconds to destroy it.
I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life
but who you have in your life that counts.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself
to the best others can do,
but to the best you can do.
I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to people,
It’s what they do about it that matters.
I’ve learned that no matter how thin you slice it,
there are always two sides.
I’ve learned that you should always talk to loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you’ll see them.
I’ve learned that you can keep going
long after you think you can’t.

I’ve learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done
When it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.
I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly,
but just don’t know how to show it.
I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
I’ve learned that true friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend is,
they’re going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken,
the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may influence who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.
I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put the individual
ahead of their actions.
I’ve learned that no matter the consequences,
those who are honest with themselves go farther in life.
I’ve learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours
by people who don’t even know you.
I’ve learned that even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned that writing,
as well as talking,
can ease emotional pains.
I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life
are taken from you too soon.
I’ve learned that it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice
and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.
I’ve learned to love
and be loved.

2009-05-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

why do you do what you do?

Ohh
Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want
But how long can you wait
Every moment lasts forever
When you feel you've lost your way

What if my chances were already gone
I started believing that I could be wrong
But you gave me one good reason
To fight and never walk away
So here I am still holding on

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing
Just when you think the road is going no where
Just when you almost gave up all your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

I fought to the limit you stand on the edge
What if today is as good as it gets
Don't know where the future's headed
Nothing's gonna bring me down
Jumped every bridge I've run every line
I risk being safe, I always knew why
I always knew why
So here I am still holding on

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing
Just when you think the road is going no where
Just when you almost gave up all your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can

You can go higher
You can go deeper
There are no boundaries
Above and beneath you
Break every rule cause there's nothing between you and your dreams

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing
Just when you think the road is going no where
Just when you almost gave up all your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
No boundaries
Yeah, there are no boundaries

2009-05-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever loved someone and they had absolutel no idea whatsoever?

Or fell for your best friend in the entire world, and then sat around and watched him/her fall for someone else?

Have you ever denied your feelings for someone because your fear of rejection was too hard to handle?

We tell lies when we are afraid, afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But everytime we tell a lie, the thing we fear grows stronger.

Have you ever noticed that the worst way to miss someone is when they are right beside you and yet you can never have them? That when the moment you can't feel them under your fingertips you miss them?

Have you wondered which hurts the most; saying something and wishing you had not, or syaing nothing and wishing you had?

I guess the most important things are the hardest things to say. Don't be afraid to tell someone you love them. If you do, they might break your heart. But if you don't, you might break theirs.

Have you ever decided not to become a couple because you were so afraid of losing what you already had with that person? Your heart decides who it likes and who it doesn't. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on its own...when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want it to.

Have you ever wanted to love someone with everything you had, but that other person was too afraid to let you? Too many of us stay walled because we are too afraid to care too much...for fear that the other person does not care as much, or that all life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who has to look back and wonder what they would have, or could have had.

No one waits forever. When the tears just won't stop falling down, I'll be there. So you see I'll be there until the end, this is a promise I can make. If you ever need me, just give me a call and I'll be there.

Laugh, Love and Smile.

Time is the best gift we'll ever receive, don’t take it for granted.

2009-05-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

25ths Students' Council

the spirit that's in our hearts will never, never will fade

Jerald

Hey Mac guy! Will always remember you as one who loves everything Mac, Keynote and all! It’s been amazing seeing how you work and lead all of us towards the goal of a loving family of servant leaders and I’m truly inspired by your leadership. Keep the passion for Council burning, hope more people can turn up for 25^th Anniversary dinner yeah! (P.S. Apple just released a new range of ads so do check it out – love the Time Machine one)

Diana

It’s been great working with you for Open House and I’m really encouraged by your perseverance, dedication, diligence and pride you have for your work. What you have done for Sponsorship for Open House made me see that there’s something special in you, that God was somehow working His miracles throughout the season. And thanks for all the prayer meetings we had, will always remember them! Continue walking in faith with Him!

Lennart

Morning buddy in the council room and my fellow Creative Director! Love your volatility somehow when you come into council room every morning, makes life spontaneous and predictably unpredictable. You’ve truly done a great job keeping the council room spick and span and I’m impressed by how Kenrick and you have done it despite all the major events happening all year round. Thanks for the card you passed me yeah, appreciate it very much! WELCO loves you – thanks for the minutes for WELCO meetings and GMs – you’re one amazing secretary!

Katharine

It seemed just yesterday that Open House was just over huh. Had fun working out the designs and logistics for OH and thanks for supporting me throughout that season! We made it in the end and I remember the late night calls for the stuff to be done, getting you to repeat and all. Will miss those days for sure. Great job as Treasurer for both OH and our council!

Sarah

Hey WELCO head! It’s been a journey for me having the opportunity to work with/under you for council board, the final video and more. Really admire your tenacity and ever-ready willingness to lend a helping hand, no matter how busy you are, not everyone can do that. And thanks for your encouragement and support during the challenging times I faced during Open House and the videos! Still can’t forget how we were the morning people at the Concourse and how it moved on to you always coming to council room and just falling flat and sleep!

Andy

Hey MRS! Didn’t exactly work with you directly but it’s always fun to have a chat with you in the morning during assembly. Makes guarding bags less painful to do. And your enthusiasm in doing whatever you put your mind to really rubs on others!

Yi Ling

Orientation II I/C! Can’t exactly recall how the few days were working under you, but it was surely an eye-opening experience to see how intricate and meticulous you were in handling the planning and execution stages within the adhoc. Your keen eye for detail and gift of the gab astounded me the first time I met you.

WELCO

Kenrick (a.k.a Kendrick!)

Council room I/C! Still remember how Sarah and I tried talking to you at the beginning of our council term and could see that there was no turning back from then. You’re one person who takes what you’re assigned with pride, no matter how insignificant it may be. Remember the time when you were like earlier than me for Orientation and had to print the OGL attendance list? That’s truly the spirit of excellence being exemplified!

Stacy

Will not forget how Sze Ying and you got me to work out the opening and closing video up to the day before even though I had OH stuff to settle. But it was all worth the effort and I’m glad that the mosaic idea was used! Thanks for being a great Maktab yeah, never failing to be on time so thanks for being such a great person to know!

Kevin

It’s been a while since you came early to the council room yeah? But anyway, love the fact that it’s almost impossible to separate you from fun in an equation. Your smile really brightens practically everyone you meet, including myself. Hope you’re coping well with J1 life so far and do remember to pop by next door when you’re in ODAC room yeah.

Wanswen

Got to know you through Cherie since TK, but you’ve changed quite a bit since TK and your determination to do things your way is quite impressive I must say. And thanks for helping out with L&F, the system has improved under your supervision so that’s really great!

Sze Ying

FA I/C! Remember how shy you were when approaching me for FA stuff and like being unsure of stuff, but you’ve moved off from there already! You still make me laugh when you give me that look during lectures and stuff. Hahas. It was fun working with you, hope I didn’t terrorise or scare you too much though.

Nadia

Subway! Really encouraged by the love you put into subway duties and your designs for Orientation and so much more things. I would say that hand-drawn drawings are still the best cos photoshop can only get us so far. Your designs are really unique and intricate, gotta learn how to draw that on a comp!

Shi Hang

Subway too! Love the slides you did for your OP and thanks for sharing the IP slides you made, really gave me more ideas to create new ones! You have really assimilated into the Singaporean culture yeah! All the best for your coming SATs!

Le-Anne

Haha, my Orlando expert! Thanks for sharing your brochures on the theme parks with me recently, looking forward to the trip yeah! And I remember the email I sent you when the OCIP Laos team got stranded and I was unable to do the video, was amazed how you managed the situation and would have loved to help out for SDD too! Your adhoc seems so much more bonded than that of OH!

RECO

Xiaowei

Hey! Will surely remember you for your voice recording for the final Invest video. It was really so heart-warming yet heart-wrenching based on the tone of your voice. And thanks for being so willing to help! You’ve always been there to lighten the atmosphere and share your bright smile!

Collin

Collin the Maktab! Your face kinda scares me each time you walk into the council room, not sure what to expect. But really respect you that you’re able to balance studies, council and volleyball. Must have been tough for you, but your commitment to each one of them hasn’t wavered. Remember preparation for biology SPA skill A – experiment to determine the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis in aquatic plants? How cool it was to write on the council room mirror with all the photosynthesis information sprawled all over!

Yuwei

Hey Yuwei. Didn’t exactly work with you except for morning duties but you’ve been there for the 25ths, as much as you now do for the 26ths. Keep your passion and drive for Council burning yeah? Believe it’ll be another eventful Council term where there’s so much more to learn and glean from the experience! All the best for your term ahead!

Hannah

Hey Queen Victoria (who killed the Earl) and fellow Purple! I can’t seem to forget the meeting we had at Macs to decide the allocation of councillors for the Open House adhoc. It’s been a while since then, but I can’t help but wonder how it’ll be like working with you as I/C! Perhaps things might be different yeah? And remember how we rehearsed the video recordings with you-know-who for Orientation. Really had a blast laughing so badly then. Thanks for being such an enthusiastic Purple yeah! Keep up that bright smile of yours!

Yi Yee

Hey! Didn’t manage to have time to get to know your working style cos it was nearing the end of OH planning that you came on. But it was really valuable having an addition into the adhoc and helping out during our last push for manpower. Hope you’ve enjoyed yourself during the OH planning yeah!

Yibo

Yi-BO! How could you be envious that H3 NTU chem exam is later than yours? It’s not exactly that much later either yeah? Nonetheless, didn’t manage to work much with you but great job for MF yeah, the programme booklet was aesthetically beautiful!

Geraldine

Geri! Can hear you before I actually see you. Hahas. It’s quite cool that you have the ability to stop everyone in their conversations and thoughts and listen to you! Remember the SLV you planned which was really successful, had plenty of fun interacting with the kids there and it really broadened my mind to the notion of servant leadership! It truly inspired me to push on for Council during the initial phase.

Thomas

OH emcee! Had fun chasing you for morning duties in general, but working with you for OH and other events showed the resilient side of you and I can’t forget the exaggerated laugh you always have. Oh, and how could we forget Ursa’s five to four and then we’re the 2 left, love your designs you did for publicity during the noms period!

Peng Rui

Manpower I/C! I think you’re the person who has grown the most during the OH planning period, your contribution for the adhoc was really tremendous during the time when your committee had half its manpower, but you endured and persevered and gave your best. And I thank you for that, and the layout and briefings you conducted for the CCA leaders. It might seem insignificant, but without the clarity with which information was disseminated and collated, manpower on the day itself would have been a huge disaster.

Anoosha

*whispers* anoosha! I recall the time when you asked me about kinetics in the canteen. Glad that I managed to help you in one way or another. And thanks for being on time for morning duties, didn’t have to chase you that much. Monday’s match support is around the corner, cheer louder yeah! Hahas.

Cheryl

Hey! Thanks for helping me out with my studies as and when I needed help yeah! And great job for MF too. Had great fun being a bouncer outside the PT. You’re someone who really looks after others’ welfare and cares for others. Should have worked with you during my council term and I think it would have been quite interesting working with you.

Lu Yue

Hey H3 partner! It’s been interesting working with you, figuring out NMR spectra for the lab report – triplet of triplets, quartets, coupling constants, spin-spin coupling and all. And as décor I/C too, thanks for helping out for Open House – signages and all!

Guo Meng

OH Vice I/C! It was a great experience working with you for OH despite the challenges we faced along the way, but I’m glad you were there for me and for the adhoc, that we were able to plan and execute Open House in the end. Thanks for your conscientiousness in planning and proofreading the OH proposals and plans before they were executed. You made a great Vice I/C!

Zheng Jun

Knew you since 3A then 4A, you haven’t changed much yeah? Your handwriting is still neat as always. Should have a 4A outing soon yeah? HP seems to be going out so often. Anyways, iSay under you made loads of progress and you’re indeed a responsible person who’s always there to lend a helping hand and asking if one needs help. Thanks for the help you’ve rendered, especially for Traffic Duty, it’s as good as you’re a monopoly for Traffic Co!

Victoria

Vic! I really appreciated that you put me under Cluedo for Orientation as Earl! Seemed just yesterday that I assimilated into the role, but his persona seems like mine somehow sneakily. Oh well, really had fun then and

Leon

The main character for the final Invest video and with your pensive look. Thanks for volunteering to act in it with all the coin-tossing into the ‘well’. Really amazed by your musical talent cos I’m not the musically inclined person per se. Great performance for MF yeah! And will remember you doing main gate with yi yee, always rushing late. Haha, and admin office too!

Gabriel

Gabriel! Will remember you for the names you gave for the different tyre conformations for Open House, 3-boring, 3-boring extra, 4-boring and the list goes on. Still have a good laugh when I open the documents for passing down, but glad you had fun along the way. Appreciate your effort and contribution for OH adhoc even though you were busy and faced challenges while planning. All the best in your pursuits in soccer yeah?

Michelle

Michelle! Didn’t manage to work much with you, but you’re really someone who’s really an all-rounder, excelling in studies and cross country. Though you’re in CT now, do remember to pop by once in a while yeah? All the best for your CT term and may the council spirit in you never, never fade.

Meng Lu
Thanks for your little note during Invest! Methylbenzene inside the window. Haha. Didn’t manage to work with you, but I believe you’re a very intricate person who pays close attention to the details yeah? Will remember your noms poster which was really aesthetically pleasant and stood out due to its colour combination from the other posters!

Subra

Su-BA! Will not forget how you always come in to council room in the morning, with phone in hand dialling Gabriel for traffic. Besides that, your photoshop skills are really amazing, how you did the brushes thingy and the kinetic typography you introduced me to. Can’t wait to see your kinetic typography for the tamil words in 3D yeah! All the best in your pursuits for adobe software!

2009-04-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

Memory

Daylight
See the dew on the sunflower
And a rose that is fading
Roses whither away
Like the sunflower
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn
I am waiting for the day . . .

Midnight
Not a sound from the pavement
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling aloneIn the lamplight
The withered leaves collect at my feet
And the wind begins to moan

Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

Every streetlamp
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning
Someone mutters
And the streetlamp gutters
And soon it will be morning

Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I musn't give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin
Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale cold smell of morning
The streetlamp dies, another night is over
Another day is dawning

Touch me
It's so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me
You'll understand what happiness is

Look

A new day has begun

2009-01-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

Forevermore

2009-01-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

marina bay floating platform balls!

reminded me of a song from wishes in disneyworld:

Star light, star bright,
first star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
have the wish, I wish tonight.
We'll make a wish, and do as dreamers do,
and all our wishes (all our wishes),
will come true.

When you wish, upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come...to...you.

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have the wish, I wish tonight

Oh, a world of wishes.
A world where dreams come true.
So make a wish, see it through.
Dare to do what dreamers do

Wishes,
Dream a dream
Wishes,
Set it free
Wishes,
Trust your heart,
Just believe

We're all just children, reaching for our dreams.
There shining high above us, and even though it seems, so far (so far).
We put our faith and hope on a shooting star.

Wishes,
Dream a dream
Wishes,
Set it free
Wishes,
Trust your heart
Just believe (oh, believe)

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may I wish I might
have the wish I wish tonight
We'll make a wish, and do as dreamers do
And all our wishes (all our wishes)
all our wishes
will come true

Oh, wishes
Wishes

HAPPY 2009!

2009-01-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

sea of passion

some strawberry thingy xp

project (RED) II @ ECP

HAPPY 17th CHERIE (:

2008-12-30T04:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008

boxes from prints (:

heart shaped crystal (hydrated potassium aluminium sulphate)

project (RED) II for cherie! happy birthday best friend! x)

council christmas party gift exchange present

christmas present for sarah! (:

blessed christmas one and all!

2008-12-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

Stories are as unique as the people who tell them, and the best stories are those in which the ending is a surprise.

Perhaps that’s why I choose to write ‘the story of us’ to capture the memories before it’s too late and it begins to fade away.

But things change. People change. Change was one of the inevitable laws of nature, exacting its toll on people’s lives. Mistakes are made, regrets form, and all that was left were repercussions that made something as simple as rising from the bed seem almost laborious.

What I realized when writing our story is that there’s so much to write in a given number of lines. And our story never ends, that’s what I hope and maybe all that I’m thinking and feeling now is God’s way of telling me something.

-----------------

The stars are like photographs. You can read into them what you will. You can believe that they measure all you have lost, or you can believe that they represent all you have loved, and continue to love.

I used to think that if you took someone’s photograph, then you could never lose them. But now I see it’s tthe other way round, that our pictures show us all that we have lost.

2008-11-18T04:02:00.000-08:00

welco outing @ sentosa!

southernmost point of continental asia

2008-11-18T03:52:00.003-08:00

check out the new Dell Studio (PRODUCT)RED Series!

2008-11-18T03:52:00.001-08:00

the new Dell Studio series has a (PRODUCT)RED!

2008-08-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

Healer

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You’re my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You’re my Portion
I believe You’re more than enough for me
Jesus You’re all I need

My Healer, You’re my Healer

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

2008-07-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

Amazing Grace
by John Newton

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

2008-07-10T05:48:00.001-07:00

But They Did Not Give Up

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."~ Samuel Beckett

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success. He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth."

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)

Socrates was called "an immoral corrupter of youth" and continued to corrupt even after a sentence of death was imposed on him. He drank the hemlock and died corrupting.
Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing.

Robert Sternberg received a C in his first college introductory-psychology class. His teacher commented that "there was a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another." Three years later Sternberg graduated with honors from Stanford University with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. In 2002, he became President of the American Psychological Association.

Charles Darwin gave up a medical career and was told by his father, "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching." In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, "I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect." Clearly, he evolved.

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."~ Confucius
Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.

Louis Pasteur was only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15th out of 22 students in chemistry.

Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.

F. W. Woolworth was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, "he didn't have enough sense."

When Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to Western Union for $100,000. The offer was disdainfully rejected with the pronouncement, "What use could this company make of an electrical toy."

John Garcia, who eventually was honored for his fundamental psychological discoveries, was once told by a reviewer of his often-rejected manuscripts that one is no more likely to find the phenomenon he discovered than to find bird droppings in a cuckoo clock. (sort of a cute critique actually)

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space.
Daniel Boone was once asked by a reporter if he had ever been lost in the wilderness. Boone thought for a moment and replied, "No, but I was once bewildered for about three days."

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly." ~ Robert F. Kennedy

An expert said of Vince Lombardi: "He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation." Lombardi would later write, "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up."

Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career (about which he said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."). And didn't Mark McGwire break that strikeout record? (John Wooden once explained that winners make the most errors.)
Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwakee Braves.

Stan Smith was rejected as a ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because he was "too awkward and clumsy." He went on to clumsily win Wimbledon and the U. S. Open. And eight Davis Cups.

Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, and Jimmy Johnson accounted for 11 of the 19 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1993. They also share the distinction of having the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history - they didn't win a single game.

Johnny Unitas's first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana's first pass was also intercepted. And while we're on quarterbacks, during his first season Troy Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn't win a single game. You think there's a lesson here?

After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, "Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don't take either one too seriously."

"Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay."~ Eric Hoffer

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn't hire him.

After Fred Astaire's first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." He kept that memo over the fire place in his Beverly Hills home. Astaire once observed that "when you're experimenting, you have to try so many things before you choose what you want, that you may go days getting nothing but exhaustion." And here is the reward for perseverance: "The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style."

After his first audition, Sidney Poitier was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

When Lucille Ball began studying to be actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, "Try any other profession."

The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through "a minute-and a half" of material and was jeered offstage. He returned the following night and closed his set to wild applause.

In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married." I'm sure you know that Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe. Now . . . who was Emmeline Snively?

At the age of 21, French acting legend Jeanne Moreau was told by a casting director that her head was too crooked, she wasn't beautiful enough, and she wasn't photogenic enough to make it in films. She took a deep breath and said to herself, "Alright, then, I guess I will have to make it my own way." After making nearly 100 films her own way, in 1997 she received the European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Flops are a part of life's menuand I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses."~ Rosalind Russell

After Harrison Ford's first performance as a hotel bellhop in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, the studio vice-president called him in to his office. "Sit down kid," the studio head said, "I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star." Ford replied, "I thought you were spossed to think that he was a grocery delivery boy." The vice president dismissed Ford with "You ain't got it kid , you ain't got it ... now get out of here."

Michael Caine's headmaster told him, "You will be a laborer all your life."

Charlie Chaplin was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because his pantomime was considered "nonsense."

Enrico Caruso's music teacher said he had no voice at all and could not sing. His parents wanted him to become an engineer.

Decca Records turned down a recording contract with the Beatles with the unprophetic evaluation, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out." After Decca rejected the Beatles, Columbia records followed suit.

In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."

Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer." And, of course, you know that he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

"No matter how hard you work for success, if your thought is saturated with the fear of failure, it will kill your efforts, neutralize your endeavors and make success impossible." ~ Baudjuin

The Impressionists had to arrange their own art exhibitions because their works were routinely rejected by the Paris Salon. How many of you have heard of the Paris Salon?

A Paris art dealer refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. One hopes that there is justice in this world and that the art dealer eventually went broke.

Van Gogh sold only one painting during his life. And this to the sister of one of his friends for 400 francs (approximately $50). This didn't stop him from completing over 800 paintings.

John Constable's luminous painting Watermeadows at Salisbury was dismissed in 1830 by a judge at the Royal Academy as "a nasty green thing." Name of the judge, anyone? Anyone?

Rodin's father once said, "I have an idiot for a son." Described as the worst pupil in the school, he was rejected three times admittance to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His uncle called him uneducable. Perhaps this gave him food for thought.

Stravinsky was run out of town by an enraged audience and critics after the first performance of the Rite of Spring.

When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter asked him "Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?" Mr. Casals answered, "Because I think I'm making progress."

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune;but great minds rise above them." ~ Washington Irving

Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.

Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family.

Emily Dickinson had only seven poems published in her lifetime.

15 publishers rejected a manuscript by e. e. cummings. When he finally got it published by his mother, the dedication, printed in uppercase letters, read WITH NO THANKS TO . . . followed by the list of publishers who had rejected his prized offering. Nice going Eddie. Thanks for illustrating that nobody loses all the time.

18 publishers turned down Richard Bach's story about a "soaring eagle." Macmillan finally published Jonathan Livingston Seagull in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.

21 publishers rejected Richard Hooker's humorous war novel, M*A*S*H. He had worked on it for seven years.

22 publishers rejected James Joyce's The Dubliners.

27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

English crime novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.
William Saroyan accumulated more than a thousand rejections before he had his first literary piece published. Way to not take a hint, Bill!

Gertrude Stein submitted poems to editors for nearly 20 years before one was finally accepted. See . . . a rose is a rose.

I bet you didn't know that John Milton wrote Paradise Lost 16 years after losing his eyesight
One of Professor Pajares's first research efforts came back with a review that began, "There are so many things I don't like about this article I just don't know where to begin."

There is a professor at MIT who offers a course on failure. He does that, he says, because failure is a far more common experience than success. An interviewer once asked him if anybody ever failed the course on failure. He thought a moment and replied, "No, but there were two Incompletes."

Let's end with Woody Allen: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. Eighty percent of success is showing up."

"There is something to be said for keeping at a thing, isn't there?" ~ Frank Sinatra

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a simple choice.

Do nothing or have an adventure.

2008-06-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

More Than Life

Stand by everything You said
Stand by the promises we made
Let go of everything I’ve done
I'll run into Your open arms
And all I know

Chorus:
I love You more than life
I love You more than life

Fall back on everything You've done
Fall back on everlasting arms
When all the world is swept away
You are all the things I need
You're the air I breathe

How can it be
You were the one on the cross that died for me?
Lifted for all our shame?
How can it be
The scars in Your hands are for me?
You are the king of all

2008-06-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

Savior King

Have You?

2008-06-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Have you ever loved someone and they had absolutely no idea whatsoever?

Or fell for your best friend in the entire world, and then sat around and watched him/her fall for someone else?

Have you ever denied your feelings for someone because your fear of rejection was too hard to handle?

We tell lies when we are afraid, afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But everytime we tell a lie, the thing we fear grows stronger.

Have you ever noticed that the worst way to miss someone is when they are right beside you and yet you can never have them? That when the moment you can't feel them under your fingertips you miss them?

Have you wondered which hurts the most; saying something and wishing you had not, or syaing nothing and wishing you had?

I guess the most important things are the hardest things to say. Don't be afraid to tell someone you love them. If you do, they might break your heart. But if you don't, you might break theirs.

Have you ever decided not to become a couple because you were so afraid of losing what you already had with that person? Your heart decides who it likes and who it doesn't. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on its own...when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want it to.

Have you ever waned to love someone with everything you had, but that other person was too afraid to let you? Too many of us stay walled because we are too afraid to care too much...for fear that the other person does not care as much, or that all life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who has to look back and wonder what they would have, or could have had.

No one waits forever. When the tears just won't stop falling down, I'll be there. So you see I'll be there until the end, this is a promise I can make. If you ever need me, just give me a call and I'll be there.

Laugh, Love and Smile.

Time is the best gift we'll ever receive, don't take it for granted.

2008-06-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

ms tan and mr chan reaching the top

me at the top of the stairs

welcome again

2008-06-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Mao Je Dong statue

really long bridge which stretches to infinity

the warm hint lolls

this famous guy who has an amazing talent of painting crystals from the inside out

some masterpieces. bought the horse one

statues outside the memorial - really heartbreaking

sad story of this guy who saw his mother being shot by the Japanese and then being frozen to death, with his baby brother still sucking his mum's milk

the cross to mark the duration of the massacre

300000 victims

sunset over peace monument

some victory words

peace monument

our last dinner together

fireworks from hotel room

fireworks

breakfast @ revolving restaurant on 32 floor

more food

welcoming sign at Nanjing Shu Ren School

CHEM LAB

CHEM LOGISTICS

2008-06-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

the school's motto - improve yourself constantly

really nice welcoming banner. mr chan and mr chua in the background

like this tower alot (: tetrahedral thingy

shanghai pudong airport departure hall

that's the number of international flights on 3rd June

saving water x)

mr cui and me

departure hall

our flight - 0010 h - unearthly timing

SQ 825 - Boeing 777-300

sideview

light from the plane's wing

data on flight information

window!

changi airport arrival hall (terminal 2)

2008-05-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

Make The Call

by Michael D. Hargrove

This story you are about to read is true and is dedicated to the memory of Gayle Belnap.
"Make The Call" is an exercise in which I ask the audience to imagine; you are on a 747 en route to Europe. You're traveling alone. It's a normal flight in every way. You settle down for a pleasant but rather long flight. About fifty minutes into it, you notice a slight vibration in the plane, but it's barely noticeable, as a matter of fact, no one else is noticing it so you don't give it any more thought.

An hour later, you notice the vibration again. It seems to have gotten a little bit worse, but then again maybe not. You figure it's nothing and let it go. You don't even think of the vibration any more until it suddenly gets a lot more severe, and then there's a loud POP! and the plane makes a sudden and violent dip to the right and then levels off again under control. There are a few screams and some panic among your fellow passengers until the captain gets on the intercom and explains that you've just lost an engine but not to worry because this plane is designed to fly safely with the remaining three. You can make it to Europe without any difficulty whatsoever.
This seems to calm everyone down and after a minute or two, the flight again becomes a perfectly normal one.

That is until the captain gets on the intercom once more, "Folks, we have discovered a problem. Evidently, when our number two engine let go, it did so in a very violent way. It has severed a fuel line. It's obvious now that we won't have enough fuel to get to Europe or to turn around and land. So we will be forced into making a water landing."

After a seemingly endless pause, he continued, "We've decided to proceed on to Europe as this will be the shortest distance for safety efforts to reach us. We'll continue to fly as long as we can to shorten the distance for rescue and to rid the plane of as much fuel as possible to help reduce the risk of fire. As we get closer to the time, we'll go over all the safety procedures you will need to survive. Until then folks, please remain in your seats and try to stay calm. Thank you."

The first thing that strikes you as odd is how very quiet the plane has become. With the exception of a couple of muffled sobs, everyone is surprisingly calm. That is until some genius decides to grab one of the phones and start to dial feverishly which triggers a mad dash for the remaining phones. Several arguments and even two fistfights ensue. The captain bursts out from the cockpit and orders everyone to get off the phones and back into their seats.

He retreats to the cockpit for a few minutes, returns, and announces; "Okay folks; we're going to do this in an orderly fashion. Everyone will get the same chance. We have determined, that with the fuel remaining, the rate of fuel loss, and the number of passengers aboard, each of you will be allowed to make one phone call. It can be up to two minutes long but not any longer. And that does NOT mean two one-minute calls or four 30 second calls. One call per person and one call only. We'll do this alphabetically within each row. Our stewards will assist you."

I then ask each of the workshop attendees to commit to paper who it is they'd call. And once everyone's written down the name of their special someone, I then ask them to commit to paper exactly what it is they would tell them.

I wait several minutes until everyone in the entire room has completed the exercise.

Then I ask them, "So what are you waiting for?"

I point out that we don't really need to be on that plane to make this call, do we? Then I give them their homework assignment: "Today . . . make the call." I gently remind them that they'll get out of this only as much as they put into it and not to blow off this opportunity to truly make a difference.

One morning, before the beginning of one of my workshops, Mike Belnap (who had attended this particular workshop twice before) came up to me with something really important he had to share. He said that it was private, however, and asked if we could find the time to break away from everyone for a few minutes. I told him that perhaps during one of the breaks or during lunch we could be alone. An opportunity didn't present itself, however, until after the workshop was over and everyone else was filling out their evaluations.

Mike approached me at the front of the room and first commented on how I hadn't done the "Make The Call" exercise like I had the previous year. I immediately plunged into a well thought out, thoroughly competent explanation of how that particular exercise wasn't really appropriate for a large group of sales people, who after all, only came for closing skills, objection word tracks, or the like. I told him that I had only used "Make The Call" sporadically around the country, and simply wasn't convinced of its relevance to this type of audience.

While I was spouting this professional trainer's insight, Mike waited patiently without comment or facial expression until I had finished. The only remark he made was a mild, "Oh, I see." He then proceeded to tell me his story.

He tells me, "First, I want you to know that I have an absolutely wonderful marriage. As a matter of fact, a few weeks from now, God willing, my wife and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. My marriage has always been strong."

I smiled and said, "Congratulations."

Mike went on, "So when you asked us last year to write down what we'd say during our one phone call, I have to admit that I felt really silly. I was thinking to myself that she knows all of this already. But I trust you Michael, so I did it anyway. After the workshop, I pulled off the road to actually make the call, like you suggested, and both my wife and I had a good chuckle but I got it all out and told her everything I had written down."

"Later on that evening we had a fabulous time together. What a wonderful night! We spent three or four hours just hugging, laughing, reaffirming our love and telling each other how much in love we have been all these years. It was a very special night in an absolutely wonderful marriage."
By this time, two female co-workers of Mike's had joined our conversation but he didn't seem to mind much. I also noticed that he had started to noticeably tear up as he was telling me this story. Actually, the ladies were too. I had just started to worry about that when Mike hit me with it.

"Five days later, five days from the day of your workshop last year Michael, my wife and I were in a terrible car accident, a really bad one. I was in the hospital for several weeks. My wife, Gayle . . . well . . . Gayle is still in a coma."

With that, all four of us broke down, and cried. We sort of group hugged each other for a few moments. I couldn't begin to imagine the pain Mike must have been feeling.

When we eventually pulled away from each other, and after drying his eyes, Mike spoke again, "Michael, I want you to know something. I'm not crying right now because I may never get to speak with Gayle again. Frankly, I don't have any more tears left for that. I'm crying because I'm so very grateful that I had the chance to tell her how important she is to me. No matter what happens, I know that she knows how much I love her and will always love her. And I want to thank you for that. You gave me the opportunity to tell her." I thanked him. He hugged me again.

Now the question as to whom actually creates opportunities and who is merely the tool of the One who creates opportunities needs no debate as far as I'm concerned. And I don't ever remember feeling as small as I did at that moment. I felt like a thief. I felt that I had just stolen from the rest of the audience that day (not to mention all the other audiences) for not including the "Make the Call" exercise.

Later that week, I ended up personally buying back the entire inventory of newly revised workbooks we had just printed and then I redid them to include the "Make the Call" assignment. This past year, I've made a point to apologize to everyone who had attended this particular workshop before, just in case I had chosen not to do the exercise in their city. I've also been able to recount Mike's story (with his permission) so nobody dismisses this activity as simply trivial.
So, friend, now it's your turn.

Take a moment right now and ask yourself, if you were on that plane, who would you call?

Then, what would you tell them? And, how soon will you make the call?

2008-05-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Symphony of Voices 2008

VJC Choir

concert hall

circle seats

yi hee, jia hsien, me

felix, erwin, cherie, wanswen, me

cherie and me - Besties

No Man is an Island

No man is an island, no man stands alone
Each man's joy is joy to me
Each man's grief is my own
We need one another, so I will defend
Each man as my brother
Each man as my friend

No man is an island far out in the blue
We all look to One above
Who our strength doth renew
When I help my brother
Then I know that I plant the seeds
Of friends that will never die

I saw the people gather
I heard the music start
The song that they were singing
Is ringing in my heart

No man is an island, no man stands alone
Each man's joy is joy to me
Each man's grief is my own
We need one another, so I will defend
Each man as my brother
Each man as my friend

really enjoyed myself and the choir anthem is really meaningful. (:

2008-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Savior King

Verse 1
And now the weak say I have strength
By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead
And now the poor stand and confess
That my portion is and I'm more blessed

Pre-chorus
Let now our hearts burn with a flame
A fire consuming all for your Son's holy name
And with the heavens we declare
You are our king

Chorus
We love you Lord, we worship you
You are our God, you alone are good

You asked your Son to carry this
The heavy cross our weight of sin

I love you Lord, I worship you
Hope which was lost, now stands renewed
I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

Verse 2
Let now your church shine as the bride
That you soar in your heart as you offered up your life
Let now the lost be welcomed home
By the saved and redeemed those adopted as your own

Ending
I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

God Is Here

In Your presence there is fullness of life
Healing flowing for body soul and mind
God of the impossible, God of miracles is here

God is here let the broken-hearted rejoice
God is here let the sick say I am well
God is here let the weak say I am strong
God is here

In Your presence there is perfect peace
And in stillness I behold Your deity
God of wonders, God of power is here

His wonders to perform

Oh His wonders yes His wonders
His wonders to perform
Oh His wonders yes His wonders
His wonders to perform

2008-04-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Council Song

As Councillors we stand
For the common goal of Victoria
An offering that we make for her
In this family,
There's a common goal
For tomorrow of Victoria
Meeting everyone's needs
And learning altogether

Chorus
Come put your hearts
And souls together
For this battle must be won
Battle must be won(Let this fire burn in our hearts)
We'll win the final victory
And so much more
To show that Victoria
Is something more

No mountains too tall
No roads too narrow
Nothing can stop us on our way
All these memories shall linger
In our minds when we part
And the spirit that's in our hearts
Will never, never will fade

thank you 24ths.

2008-04-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

(un)found

Music and Lyrics by Jasmine Choe, Michelle Lee and Kevin Tay

Every time I look at you

I see a different kind of me

How I wish I could be you

Everything that mattered most to me

You have it all

And why can't I have the same

Every time I look at you

I see a heart so true

How I wish the world could see

All this time you've always dreamed

Of something more

But you've missed all that is you

You could be greater, don't have to try harder

You could be all you're meant to be

All this time I though I knew

I thought I had it all

Now it all seems unclear

There is no shadow but your own

That hides, the beauty found in you

I could be greater, don't have to try harder

Just got to be all I'm meant to be

I know,

I'm worth more that what they see in me

I can be free to be

I thought I'd found my answer in you

Now I know the truth, but

Can all I have be just another lie?

How can all that glitter not be gold?

When you've found the whisper in the wind

It doesn't matter where you've been

Now,

I'm worth more than what they see in me

I know I'm free to be

And now I've found my answer in You

I know the truth

Let me be (un)found in You

invest 08 Symphony No. 25 is coming up!

IP open house tomorrow

VJC Choir concert @ esplanade - symphony of voices on 12 May

2008-04-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

You Were Made For This
by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world right now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.

You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.

I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind. Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.

In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails. We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn't you say you were a believer? Didn't you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater?

Didn't you ask for grace? Don't you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater?Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these—to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here.

In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.

2008-04-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

truly an evening to remember.

i believe it has been a long journey to have made it thus far. and settling for second best isn't always the best of feelings. so close, yet so far. but a Gold with Honours still reflects the standard of TK Band till this present moment.

thanks to all band members - past and present.

you truly make TK Band a class of its own by defining excellence.

2008-03-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

He Lives

by Israel Houghton

More than a baby in a manger
to whom nobles would humbly bow their knee
Or the young Man who heaven knew as Savior
He is alive in me

More than the Man who walked on water,
or the One who caused blinded eyes to see
Greater than all the signs and wonders
He is alive in me

He lives, He lives;
He conquered the grave,covered our sin
He lives, He lives;
Death could not hold the promise within
He lives

More than the Man who heard hosanna
from the same cried, "crucify the King"
Freely He gave as they demanded
still He's alive in me

More than the man, mankind rejected
with nails in His hands and through His feet
but the end told much more then they expected
For everyone knows in three days he rose
with power forever to redeem you and me

He lives; He lives
he conquered the gravecovered our sin
He lives, He lives
Death could not hold the promise within

Woh! He lives; He lives
He conquered the gravecovered our sin
He lives, He lives
Death could not holdthe promise within

He's alive! (choir)
Death where is your sting?
He's alive! (choir)
Grave your victory?
He's alive! (choir)
Jesus holds the keys, He reigns (choir)
He reigns forever and ever He's alive! (choir)
Death where is your sting?He's alive! (choir)
Grave your victory?He's alive! (choir)
Jesus holds the keys,
He reigns He reigns forever and ev - er (choir)

Death where is your sting (choir)
He's Alive!Grave your victory?
He's Alive (choir)
Jesus holds the keys, He reigns (choir)
He Reigns forever and ev - er! He Lives! He Lives! He lives! (choir)

HAPPY EASTER!

2008-03-04T04:30:00.001-08:00

VJSC 25th Elects

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

- Marianne Williamson from Return to Love

2008-02-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

Understanding Human Relationships

January 29th, 2007 by Steve Pavlina

One of the most important relationship lessons I learned was this: The relationships we have with other people are projections of the relationships we have within ourselves. Our external relationships and our internal relationships are in fact the same relationships. They only seem different because we look at them through different lenses.

Let’s consider why this is true. Where do all your relationships exist? They exist in your thoughts. Your relationship with another person is whatever you imagine it to be. Whether you love someone or hate someone, you’re right. Now the other person may have a completely different relationship to you, but understand that your representation of what someone else thinks of you is also part of your thoughts. So your relationship with someone includes what you think of that person and what you believe s/he thinks of you. You can complicate it further by imagining what the other person thinks you think of him/her, but ultimately those internal representations are all you have.

Even if your relationships exist in some objective reality independent of your thoughts, you never have access to the objective viewpoint. You’re always viewing your relationships through the lens of your own consciousness. The closest you can get to being objective is to imagine being objective, but that is in no way the same thing as true objectivity. That’s because the act of observation requires a conscious observer, which is subjective by its very nature.
At first it might seem troublesome that you can never hope to gain a truly accurate, 100% objective understanding of your relationships. You can never escape the subjective lens of your own consciousness. That would be like trying to find the color blue with a red lens permanently taped over your eyes. That doesn’t stop people from trying, but such attempts are in vain. If you fall into the trap of trying to think of your relationships as objective entities that are external to you, you’ll be using an inescapably inaccurate model of reality. Consequently, the likely outcome is that you’ll frustrate yourself to no end when it comes to human relationships. You’ll make relating to other people a lot harder than it needs to be. Intuitively you may know something is off in your approach to relationships, but you’ll remain stuck until you realize that every relationship you have with another person is really a relationship that exists entirely within yourself.

Fortunately, once you embrace the subjective nature of relationships, you’ll have a much easier time relating to people. It’s easier to get where you want to go when you have an accurate map. The subjective view of relationships implies that you can change or improve your relationships with others by working on the internal relationships within yourself. Furthermore, you can improve your internal relationships, such as your self-esteem, by working on your relationships with others. Ultimately it’s all the same thing.

Here’s a basic example of how this works.

When I first met Erin, I quickly noticed she had an aversion towards orderliness. Having a messy room was a habit since childhood, and being organized was a concept forever alien to her. In Erin’s filing cabinet, I once found a file labeled “Stuff I Don’t Need.” Chew on that for a while.
On the other hand, I grew up in a house that was always — and I do mean always — neat and tidy. Even as a child, I took pride in keeping my room clean and well organized. So it probably comes as no surprise that I often push Erin to be neater and more organized.

If we try to look at this situation “objectively,” you might suggest solutions like me working on becoming more tolerant of disorder, Erin working on being neater, or a mixture of both. Or you might conclude we’re incompatible in this area and that we should try to find ways to reduce the level of conflict. Basically the solution will be some kind of compromise that seeks to mitigate the symptoms, but the core issue remains unresolved.

Let’s see what the subjective lens has to say now. This model says that my relationship with Erin is purely within my own consciousness. So my conflict with Erin is just the projection of an internal conflict. Supposedly my desire for Erin to be neater and more organized means that I really want to improve in this area myself. Is that true? Yes, I have to admit that it is. When I criticize Erin for not being neat enough, I’m voicing my own desire to become even more organized.

This is an entirely different definition of the problem, one that suggests a new solution. In this case the solution is for me to work on improving my own standards for neatness and order. That’s a very different solution than what we get with the objective model. To implement this solution, Erin needn’t even be involved.
From the standpoint of the objective model, this subjective solution seems rather foolish. If anything it will only backfire. Wouldn’t my working on becoming neater just increase the conflict between me and Erin?

Now here’s the really fascinating part. When I actually tried the subjective solution by going to work on myself, Erin suddenly began taking a keen interest in becoming more organized herself. She bought new home office furniture and assigned new homes to objects that were previously cluttering her workspace. She hired a cleaning service to clean the house and did more decluttering before they came over. She bought new bedroom furniture for our children. She did a lot of purging and donated many old items to charity. She began looking for a housekeeper and wrote up a list of cleaning tasks to be outsourced. And I really wasn’t pushing her to do this. If anything she started pushing me a bit.

Somehow when I worked on myself (recognizing that this is an internal issue, not an external one), Erin came along for the ride. I’ve tested this pattern in other ways, and it continues to play out. My ”external” relationships keep changing to keep pace with my internal relationships. I’ve seen this effect with other people too, but it’s been most obvious with Erin and my kids, since they’re the people I spend the most time with. It’s rather spooky at times how strong and immediate the effect is. However, the subjective model suggests that this is exactly how reality works, so I’m glad to have a paradigm that fits the results.

I encourage you to experiment to see how your external relationships reflect your internal ones. Try this simple exercise: Make a list of all the things that bother you about other people. Now re-read that list as if it applies to you. If you’re honest you’ll have to admit that all of your complaints about others are really complaints about yourself. For example, if you dislike George Bush because you think he’s a poor leader, could this be because your own leadership skills are sub par? Then go to work on your own leadership skills, or work on becoming more accepting of your current skill level, and notice how George Bush suddenly seems to be making dramatic improvements in this area.

It can be hard to admit that your complaints about others are really complaints about yourself, but the upside is that your relationship issues reveal where you still need to grow.

Consequently, a fantastic way to accelerate your personal growth is to build relationships with others. The more you interact with others, the more you learn about yourself.

I believe the true value of human relationships is that they serve as pointers to unconditional love. According to the subjective model, when you forgive, accept, and love all parts of yourself, you will forgive, accept, and love all other human beings as they are. The more you improve your internal relationships between your thoughts, beliefs, and intentions, the more loving and harmonious your human relationships will become. Hold unconditional love in your consciousness, and you’ll see it reflected in your reality.

2008-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

always one for all and all for one
TK - a class of its own

thanks mr lee and mr koh and mdm so for your guidance and support and motivation all this while.
your vision and desire to see our batch excel and soar to greater heights.

without fail! thanks mrs tan SF, mr tan KH, mrs chee

all the revision exercises, supplementary exercises, notes, lectures, remedials, SPA practicals and all. i'm starting to miss it already.

must keep the passion of TK Chemistry burning like never before. it is TK Chemistry Department which truly inspire me to aspire to be a chemistry teacher (in TK) one day. x)

thanks EL department:
ms lian, mdm puja, mdm yeo, mrs poh, mrs poon, mdm farida, ms nah, mrs wee, ms kwong, mrs koh.

thanks Humanities Department:
mrs lena poh and mrs yeo BL and of course:
ms sri, mrs tan TF, mdm mariam, mrs wee, mr teo KK, ms yap, mr yusri, mdm ong, mrs chen, ms nani

thanks mdm halilah, mrs hwang LB, mr kang HC, ms ada tan, mrs tan PL, mdm goo, mrs khairul and all.

thanks mrs neo LK, ms goh PG

thanks mrs yap, ms ang, mdm rubina.

thanks ms low KS, ms lim AB, mdm he XH, ms ong HK

awesome

excellent

spectacular

thanks to all the TK teachers for making history once again for TK class of 2007. your hard work, effort and time spent for all the notes, lessons, remedials, lectures, and especially the last push for the Os, it touched me deeply that you all have exemplified the saying that TK teachers will go the extra mile, no matter what it takes, to ensure the best for the students.

you truly deserve the credit for the excellent results for 2007. thanks so much for everything, knowing that the feeling of satisfaction which comes from seeing your students do well and excel is simply amazing indeed.

it's been an awesome and memorable journey for me and i believe, for the sec4batch '07 as well.
but i hope that as we step fourth to a new institution, the TK flag will continue to fly high as TK grows from strength to strength - always.

indeed, the culmination of the 4 years in TK has left me speechless and i'm amazed at what TK did for me, is doing in me, and about to do for future batches which pass through the gates of TK.

praise God for His provision as well!

"How Can I Keep From Singing"

There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Saviour lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

2008-01-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

The Castle of God’s Love
by Larry Libby condensed from Someone Awesome

Many truths about God are TOO BIG for our minds to hold. We can know some of the truth – it shines in our hands like star-bright jewels. But there is always more and more and more. More than we can ever know.

We can know a little about God’s love, but we could never begin to reach our thoughts around something so mighty.

Sometimes it helps me to think about it like this...

Imagine God’s love is a huge castle, soaring higher than a thousand white-peaked mountains – linked together – with their tops poking into space. Imagine looking at this castle from far away. There it is...vast and high, gleaming like morning sun on new snow. It towers reach up and up toward Heaven. Its windows blaze with bright, welcome light.

The castle is so great it would take a lifetime to walk around it.

You’d love to find out everything you could about that beautiful castle. And there is so much to see and taste and know. The gardens are bigger than your whole state (even if you live in Alaska) and spill over with towering trees and flowering trees and leaping fountains and majestic waterfalls and deep, bubbling springs and a rainbow of singing birds and – well, who knows what else. Its rooms are filled up with wondrous treasure and music and laughter and mysteries and places where you can explore and play and hide and rest.

No one has seen all its rooms and towers.

No one has eaten in its long, sunny banquet halls.

No one has peered through all its high windows...

Can you know all of it? No. Not in this world. Not even in a trillion years in Heaven.

But you can find a special room in that castle. A room you’ll love so very much. And you can get to know that room, look out of your own window, and at the end of the day curl up in a big soft chair and fall asleep.

Every bit of the castle belongs to you and me, but small as we humans are, we can only enjoy and understand just so much at a time. But we have the rest of our lives here on Earth and endless life in Heaven to keep learning and seeing and hearing more and more.

This is the castle of God’s love.

praise God for His blessings throughout the O level period! Truly, mighty to save.