do you believe in coincidences?

Pastor Kong said that he once believed in it, but he doesnt now. Pastor Kong realizes that there's too many "coincidences" in his life and firmly stands on the word of God, that God is our Provider.

so do i=)

i woke up at 8am, a little too late as my project submission is at 8.30am. bathed and prepared~ then, i saw my journal devotion and remembed that i'll be reading Mark 3 today. decided to read the chapter as i've committed myself to God. after reading, i felt prompted to pray. so i prayed a short prayer.

8.30am, i left house and walked down to wait for a cab. i waited for a cab but there wasn't any in sight. then, i started to think if Sister Sharon would be going to work soon. then, i saw her car turning out of her estate~

she pulled over and asked where am i heading to. thank God she's travelling to work via AYE and that means that she's able to send me to school~ thank God!=D

upon reaching school, i met up with another project member and we walked to blk 37 to submit the paper. before we reached the lobby, i saw soonyong walking out. so i called him and asked him to go up to the office again, with me.

soonyong drives~ so after submitting the project, he drove to look for this friends, but they were not in school. we had breakfast and he sent me home~ thank God!!

thank God as i'm still very sleepy and my shoulders are aching a little~ i wonder why too~ maybe i didn't sleep at a comfortable position last night=/ but thank God for just great "coincidences" in just 2 hours!!

i'm a blessed, more to come, man! =D

GOD IS A GOOD GOD!

-backtrack a little-

forward a message at 1.20am, after my quiet time, to several people. at 1.30am, i received a reply from kimberly~ apparently she replied and said that i'm sweet! hAhaZz!! i guess its the content of the message lah=P

well, we started chatting and she asked if i was serving and vice versa. i managed to convince her to meet me at 6.30am at the bus stop near her place so that we can go church together~ well, she has to reach church at 8am, so being 30 mins earlier doesn't harm right? hAhaz=P

so when we finally confirmed everything, it was 2.00am!! we only had 3 hours of sleep left and kimberly reminded me to wake her up at 5.45am.

6.00am - i woke up as i received a message. as i read the message, my brain began to register something; are you awake yet? <- that's the message kimberly sent and when i read it repeatingly, i realized that i woke up late!! replied her and started to dash around my room, looking for my pants.

apparently, my mom hanged my pants in her room, at the window. i searched everywhere but not that part of her room. so i wasted 20 minutes looking for that dumb pants before noticing that area=/

had a really quick shower, packed, combed hair, and dashed out of the house. as i approached the bus stop, a bus came and it brings me to kimberly's place too, so i boarded it and hoped that i wouldn't be too late.

reached at 6.40, 10 minutes late of the appointed time, but kim wasn't there as i told her that i would message her when i'm in the bus. shortly afterwards the pretty girl appeared, with loads of stuffs in her hands, looking so comfortable. loLz=P

both of us were tired, but we couldn't sleep. so we chatted all the way on the bus.

finally we reached church and i went to report for my security duty.

i was REALLY shocked to see my name under the Pulpit IC and that also means that i'll be seated at the same position for 3 services!! Praise The Lord!! well, though i was sleepy, i was very determined NOT to fall asleep during service.

when i asked Bro Taifong about the pulpit movements, as there's additional movements, he told me that he specially placed me there because he knew that i haven done that position yet~ lolz=P THANK GOD!!

i took this chance very seriously and after receiving the movements, i started to brief my pulpit partner~ it a great door opened for me and i don't want to mess up this chance. so i made sure that my point was driven clear and no mistakes would be made=)

usually, the first pulpit movement is extremely standard. most security personnel knows about it. it was the second pulpit movement that was a little challenging. we had to watch Pastor Kong give the que and listen to 51's que to move off. but by the GRACE OF GOD, for all 3 services, all movements of the pulpit was a great success!!

the message preached by Pastor Kong is sososo strong and filled with conviction!! listening to the message once is great, but listening to the message 3 times is simply WONDERFUL!! THANK GOD!! the church practically erupted and hearts are set of FIRE!!

today's message is about Faith~ having faith in ourselves, in God, in the people around us and in the future. basically with these 4 areas of Faith covered, we can expect a wonderful journey with God. but THATS NOT ALL!! we gonna do great things for God!! Hallelujah!!

in security, 44 always say that when we serve God at our best, He would bless us back. now, i experienced 1 of the MANY times God has blessed my life. ( seriously, i feel that i'm a really blessed person... =D )

at first, i messaged kim and asked if she wanna have dinner together. i owe her a meal because she accompanied me early morning, but she's out with her girl-friends~ so i messaged natalie. apparently, she's going plaza for dinner, so i told her that i can join her for dinner.

when i met her and her mom and sister, they headed to swensons! i was quite shocked because i was prepared to pay for my own dinner and i never expected them to eat at swensons. ordered fish n chips and they ordered several other la carte too.

nat's sister paid for the bill~ she treated nat and her mom the meal, including me too!! thank God! i was thinking how would my budget plan work if i had to pay for my meal at swensons~ lolz=P

next, we headed to nat's sister place. over there, she was clearing her small little crystals and she wanted to give me loads of them. well, i liked this metal bangle, but it looks rather weird on me and i seldom wear stuffs on my wrist. so i didn't take it. sigh~

but she forced me to take a box of small little crystals worth over 40 bucks~

then, after sending nat and her mom home, her husband sent me home too! =D

though its really nothing much, but i really thank God for all these small little blessings in my life. small little blessings add up to GREAT blessings!!! i'm on a kinda tight budget, God provided for me swensons. the crystals can be given to the kids as gifts and the lift home was reallyreally appreciated cause i was very tired~

THANK GOD!! PRAISE GOD!!

oh yah. i found S$10 bucks. lemmi ask this question - is it right to pick up the note from the floor? no one was around~ so, lemmi know if its really right?

and 1 more thing... mom said that she would be giving me extra pocket money this week for CNY clothes!! wOohOo!!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!

what a day=/

got dragged up by charmaine, calling me up at 7.30am, asking me to bath and meet her at 8.30am because she's going to the Scout HQ. well, after 5 minutes of assuring her that i won't sleep, i headed to shower.

went to her place and her dad sent us to choa chu kang MRT station, where we met the other ventures. some of them were kinda shocked seeing me there~ lolz=P

been quite sometime since i last went to the Scout HQ and it hasn't changed much. the counter aunties are gone though~ they were great people to chat with when you're bored~ hAaz=P

for some reason, Charmaine isn't quite close with the other female ventures and she called me along so that she wouldn't be bored. shEesh~ got her the uniform and stuffs and she settled them really fast, compared to the other girls, who took like million years to try and purchase.

if i wasn't there, they would end up taking a even longer time=/

well, then charmaine and i headed to beach road ourselves as we're planning to go kbox at 2pm. off we went to beach road and the journey there nearly killed us. we were so tired!! the sun was blazing and both of us got really lethagic.

finally bought most of her survivor kit stuffs and we dragged ourselves out of beach road. realized that there's a bus to cine and we hopped onto it. life draining away in the process.

the moment we stepped into kbox, life was restored instantly and charmaine started to become extremely hyperactive. haHaz=P boonteck joined us shortly afterwards and boonteck has the talent to be in the drama ministry... singing with LOADS of action! HahAz!!

we sang until 8 plus because there wasn't anyone who would be taking over our room, so we continued singing until we got SO TIRED and sleepy and decided to head home.

i couldn't go home, just yet. i had to listen to Sister Sharon's talk on insurance and after listening to her talk, i'm kinda convinced~ hAaz=P its a quite good plan, paying like maybe 110 a month? and at the end of 25 years, i'm able to get at least 60k in return? excluding interest and some other chim stuff that she said.

well, Sister Sharon would be printing out the details for me, so i'll be able to review it kinda carefully.

i would be working out a budget plan too... gotta use my finances really smartly.

okie. after "preaching" we headed for SUPPER!! as KSL!! hAaz=P huge joke over there. Sister Sharon, Charmaine, Mabel and i were seated at the same table. apparently, her members started making fun of Sister Sharon because charmaine and i are currently her clients~ loLz=P so they were saying that Sister Sharon has become a money minded person and doesn't care about her CG anymore~ lolz=P

headed home and asked my mom about the insurance thingy. apparently, she has already signed me up in a policy thats almost similar to Sister Sharon's!! so, perhaps, i'll be getting my money after, 25 years? haHaz!! wOopiEe!! well, but i really won't mind getting another policy if i'm able to~

hardwork pays off at the end, when all the policys pay back=) call it investment? at least its a safer investment then some other investments that i've heard around~ MLM and stuffs=P

anyone interested in wanting to know more about the insurance thingy? do give me a call, i earn NO commission=) just helping Sister Sharon because she just started and she have been always sending me home without conditions~ i guess this is 1 of the things that i can do for her~

c'mon hesitate no more. its a WIN-WIN situation.

this verse kept appearing when i read the bible today.

what good is a man when he loses his soul but gains the world. once in the bible, once in the book that i'm reading.

another verse that kept appearing in my mind is that when we goto heaven, God says he never knows us. even though we did great things in Jesus name, He never knew us.

perhaps i managed to be where i am today was because of yesterday. i was hungry for God, His presence, His power, His word and His anionting. yet, when i achieved something in the Kingdom of God, i thought that i'm "top" and "good enough"

thus, i lost the hunger for His word and the hunger to know Him.

i picked myself up, or God carried me, time and time again. i fell, but i never gave up. but why this time, when i fall, i would drag a little before allowing God to pick me up again. why am i "seemingly" testing His faithfulness in me, knowing that He would always be here for me.

why couldn't i just instantly allow God to carry me through the valley and trust in His word that even through the valleys, I DO NOT FEAR!

why am i hesitating, wondering if God accepted my apology, or why am i just allowing myself to fall WITHOUT A SINGLE FIGHT!?

where's that old darn joel that i used to know? the one that was hungry for His word. the one that was hungry for His presence. the one that simply wanted more of Him. the one that did his quiet time no matter how late it is. the one that didn't think highly of himself. the one that stood so darn strong on the word of God. that one that wouldn't pity himself.

thank God for making me realize i lost the old joel, and i need the old joel back. most of all, i need God more then i need anything else. God comes first, the others would come nicely. i wouldn't want the day to come when God forces His way on mine.

this is the day where i make my decision, again. friday, 1,11am, 28 january 2005. to restore back to the place of restoration, to whom God intended me to be; Genesis 1:1.

no excuses, no "theological" sound excuses, no whatsoever.

its gonna be only - am i right, or wrong.

i had another weird dream, again.

i was playing soccer at the void deck and my teammates were Manchester United players. well, opponents are from Arsenal.

apparently, even the referee kelong and help Arsenal throughout the match. the referee sent off several Man United players but didn't give any fouls to the Arsenal players even when they commited a serious foul.

i was a player and it was the second leg of the finals.

in the first leg, i remember that Man United won it by 2-1. so when the second leg started, the referee started sending off players like Roy Keane and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. so eventually, there were 2 players left and 1 of them is me.

i managed to score a goal, after taking a lift up to some corridor and shot at the open space. well, i celebrated but was badly fouled by the Arsenal players.

throughout the dream, it was a messy game and whenever i scored, they scored too. then, i was left all alone in the match and i had to score more goals so that we would win. we were down by 2 goals and i remember telling myself that nothing is impossible and i'm able to take them all.

cool eh? must have sounded like Ronaldo.

i remembered 1 part when most of the Arsenal players were cramped in the lift, wanting to go upstairs and score the goal. but i held the door and got back the ball. when i got back the ball, the liftdoor closed and up they went, without the ball~ loLz=P

i've no idea how the match ended cause i realized that i would be late if i continue sleeping~ haHaz=P

crappish dreams man~ but its quite interesting~ the goals i scored were kinda nice. volleys~ ball moving at high speed, curve~ stuffs like that~ hahAZz=P

i'm so bored, i can click IE a million times and close the windows in record time. (extracted frm nix)

i had a super cool dream, a dream that i wish could continue~ which means continue sleeping=P haHaz=P

i dreamt that i was in the army and i signed up for School of Theology. in the beginning, my application was rejected because i was in the army. but i kept insisting that i'm okay with signing extras and i even met up with Pastors to talk to them.

finally, my application was accepted. for the army side, i was allowed to leave during lessons, but i've to sign extras on weekends.

i've heard of people saying doing SOT in the army is tough. but i was prepared to prove them wrong. everyday during my training, i would go through what i learnt in SOT and repeat it over and over again until its in my brains.

then, Pastor Audrey and Pastor Zhuang offered to send me to church everyday because they stay near my camp. in their car were their kids, kymberly and nygel, and i would usually talk to them and play with them. i would also carry their bags when we reach their school and i would walk them in.

back in church, i studied and did loads of research with other SOT students.

there was once when Pastor Aries came and send me to church. i was kinda surprised and asked why. apparently, Pastor Audrey and Pastor Zhuang got involved in something and they needed help. so i burned more weekends and helped them. (well, no idea what was that something)

then, i graduated! (dreams got no time) and i shared my testimony in church! haHaz=P i was the top student and i shared how God gave me this chance to shine for Him in my army camp and how Pastor Audrey, Pastor Zhuang encouraged me daily.

then i woke up coz my mom turned the aircon off=/

6 - 9 June
Youth Conference 2005
City Harvest Church
1 Jurong West St 91
Singapore 649041

i know this is a little early, but EMERGE CONFERENCE 2005!!!

WOOHOO!! 3 days of FIRE from God, 3 days of RENEWED PASSION, VISIONS and DREAMS, 3 days of the POWER OF GOD, 3 days of SOLID FOOD, 3 days of FUN, JOY, TEARS, CHALLENGES and FRIENDS, 3 days of HUNGER, THIRST and the PRESENCE OF GOD, 3 days of hearts being CHANGED, HEALED, CHALLENGED and SET ON FIRE, 3 days of LIBERTY, DISCIPLING and GETTING EQUIPPED WITH HIS WORD.

pure excitment.

ain't no giant!! gonna walk on my land!!
ain't no city!! that can't be saved!!
i'm stepping out, i'm breaking out, i'm shaking all the fears of me~~
yeahyeahyeah~

talk about waking up super early, excited that i'm able to serve God and preparing. loLz=) it was FUN!! waking up at 5.30am on normal days are always a trouble. but, i woke up at 5.15am this morning and i couldn't wait to set off to church~ lolz=P

reached church and did logistics~ it was one of the fastest time we ever did logistics and even had ample time to prepare, check, arrange and give out~ loLz=) praise the Lord manz!

for the first service, i was assigned to be a "special-task" force personnel. i was told to patrol b1 and b2, to look out for drivers who stay in the car and refuse to leave. apparently, there was a case recently, thus we're making special arrangements, in case that person comes back again.

2nd service, i was assigned to outpost~ well, it can be boring, but listening to the ushers talking was entertaining~ i realized something. there's an usher, who's acutally kinda pretty, named Jade and she's like SUPER understanding? every single thing that the others said, she manages to reply with - maybe he... or maybe this...., maybe that~ i was kinda impressed with all her maybes and concluded her to be an extremely understanding girl.

3th service!! went down super late.

well, met up with my cellgroup members too~ charmaine was tryin to force me to take the journal, but i managed to stuff it back into her hands coz i don't want to carry it around. during that shoving process, xj was trying to tell me that Pastor Audrey is looking for me and i was trying to tell her that i've to serve.

well after sometime, i managed to end the struggles and took the lift down. met Pastor Audrey in the lift and the conversion was FUNNY manz.

-ding- lift stop

me : Hi Pastor Audrey
Pst Audrey : hi (nice smile)
me : i'm Joel...
Pst Audrey : OH! so you are Joel!! from whose cellgroup? (shocked and laugher look)
me : yah... i'm frm xiaojia's cellgroup, N272...
Pst Audrey : yEs.. very nice to meet you finally... so how long have you been in church?
me : er... 1 year and a few months...
Pst Audrey : (lift reaches B2) okiEe~ i just wanted to meet you just to see who you are, now i know! hAaz=P (walks out laughing and waved byebye~)

loLz=P it was really funny man~ when 1 of my senior from security walked into the lift when it reached B2, he had a super curious look on his face, almost like - why is Pastor Audrey so friendly to joel? hAHaz=P

attended service during service 6 and it was great!! hahaZz..the 6 Ps and it was rounded up into 1 important point, which is singing praises to God. i bet you can almost imagine the ending, after the salvation altarcall. the entire church erupted and i found myself jumping even though i had a super heavy duty torchlite.

well, just a point to note. our church isn't about just singing songs to God=) we learn more then that. praise the Lord!

after service, zhaowei, daniel and i stayed behind and did logistics. it was kinda fun and we had a wildride when we realized we lost the keys to the CCTV cupboard~ we practically searched the entire place and even asked the ushers. i even started searching the Chief Usher's bag without knowing. thank God she's my "good friend" in church~ HAhaz=P alwys making fun of me~

then i called up the previous security personnel and asked him. THEN he realized the took the keys home. mAnz=/ wasted like so much time, waiting and searching for a key~

sis came with dr lee and waited for me in the church carpark~ well, zhaowei hitched a ride to clementi and then we headed to yacht club for dinner. hMmz.. felt a little overdressed but didn't bother much~ lolz=P had loads of food, ate so much that i'm still very bloated. well, the main purpose was to celebrate my mom's birthday and i didn't know it until the very last minute~ hAhaz!=X

kinda bloatish and i feel like puking=/

wOopiEe!! security appreciation next monday!! Pastor Derek would be there and Bro ChongKeng wants me to organise games!? sigh. pray for me? hAhaz=P

cellgroup meeting~~

was given the chance to lead prayer meeting today and i felt that it was rather good~ though i forgot the 3 main points to pray, i managed to come up with 1 point in the nick of time. welL, rather then er'ing and hmm'ing while everyone was worshipping, i HAD to think of something fast~ loLz=P

well, everyone prayed and then its praise and worship!!

eugene shared a word that really made everyone quieten down~ it wasn't scary but the presence of God filled the entire place as eugene spoke. for me, i was extremely excited as i knew thats what God promised when eugene prayed for a word. the power of God is available~

when eugene ended, the Holy Spirit prompted me to addon to his word. i shared about opening our door 100% to God and to be convicted to want to know God more, personally. the power and presence of God combined worked miracles and i saw some cellgroup members tearing. (well, unless dirt all flew into their eyes at the same time, which i seriously doubt)

i was really amazed at the power of God and throughout the meeting, His presence never left the place. i really do hope that the members are now convicted in their hearts to want to know God more and to be righteous in everything that they do=)

back home after a long day but, THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well, i shall skip the school part coz its extremely sterotype~

zhaowei messaged me, an important message, asked me to help out in church for the packaging of the journals. without much consideration, i gave him my word and messaged several people who stays near church too.

since i ended school at 2pm, i went home placed my stuffs and went out again. i headed to CCK Lot 1 in search of Harvey Norman, but it closed down. so i went to Bukit Batok and found the branch there. found a boiler and bought it. the boiler is for my mom's birthday present~ lolz=P something that she needs and we need~ ain't i an extremely practical person? =P

finally reached home again at 4 plus. went out again at 5.

took a cab down to church as i was late and had a really quick dinner at KFC. when i reached church, i realized that zhaowei hasn't reached and he said his leader would look for me. so i went into attributes and browsed around.

i found the book that i linked in my laptop and bought it immediately. the book is called Drawing Near by John Bevere.

in this book, John Bevere urges us not to settle for the dry shadow of Christianity that knows about God without knowing God. the incredible invitation from the Creator of the universe is not just to worship Him from afar with words and rituals, but to enter a relationship so meaningful and intimate that you know His heart, and He knows yours.

often we feel God is distant, but Bevere says that cause is not God, but ourselves. our focus on possessions, entertainment, and feel-good worship forms barriers to Him. but when we open our lives to Him in humility and obedience, He fills us with His Holy Spirit and reveals Himself to us. prayer transform from a dry, one-way monologue to a loving dialogue between companions each sharing the deepest secrets of the heart. in restoring this intimate relationship with God, you will form a loving union with Him that fills your life with joy and passion.

okie. i don't have such strong command of english to write those. its actually taken from the back of the book. its really a great read and i've only read the first chapter=) there's still more to go and i know that i'm in for a great time.

okiEe~ so i was sitting there reading my book when Sister Cynthia came up to me. she asked if i'm joel and introduced herself. Sister Wendy came along too and they had their dinner while i waited for the van to arrive.

finally the van arrived and we started working~ in the beginning, there were only 7 of us. slowly, more and more people came and even Pastor Yeong came down and helped out. most of the people helping were church staffs and they were all super fast~

even though those of us that could leave early when given the chance, we refused to leave. i kept insisting that its okie and i'm fine with it~ lolz~ Sister Cynthia was worried that we might have to stay through the night but i guess Sister Wendy was the one that called for reinforcements~ hAHaz~

i was assigned to do the packing of the journals into boxes and sealing them. never had much rest as the flow of the journals were never ending~ but thank God for His Supernatural Strength, even though i was coughing slightly and my knee was giving me problems.

when i was sloting the journals into clear plastic in the beginning, even though it was extremely easy, i thank God that i was extremely sharp to notice a few stains in the journal and missing pages. really thank God for His discernment as most of the time it was like an sudden prompt to take an extra look at the journal.

not only that~ when i was packing the journals into the boxes, there were several journals that were placed in the wrong direction. thank God for His discernment once again and the mistake was corrected.

talk about Spirit of Excellence manz=)

i guess the BESTEST part is that, even though everyone was doing the same job OVER and OVER again, no one complained and when we finally completed the THOUSANDS (only january) everyone started to burst out in cheers~ most of them forgot the time and even Pastor Yeong wanted to do a 3 cheers cheer~ lolz=P

for me, personally, the joy of the Lord filled me from the beginning and when i was working, every single action i did was for the Lord. even when i was slotting them into the clear plastic sheet, i was thinking how the journal would inspire our everyday life and when i've my copy of the journal, how am i going to write on it because its so beautiful~!!

i took a cab back with Sister Cynthia, Sister Wendy and another brother from Sister Cynthia's cellgroup and thank God they stayed around my area=D

well, i wonder when would they be doing the febuary part of the journal~ i wouldn't mind helping out everyweek=)

i'm just a human being who wants to serve God, to give God my very best. even if i'm using my own strength, i still want it to be my best effort to God. i'll be burnt out and tired, but i hope that at the end of the day, i did something to bring glory to God's name.

no matter how much i try without the anionting and direction from God, chances are slim. but i just want to go on.

areas in my life haven been submitted to God and areas in my life that doesn't bring glory to God. why would He want to use someone like me when he has a mighty army of soldiers filled with Faith and the Holy Spirit.

but God still uses the weak to bring Glory to Him.

thank God for Eugene. he called, we chatted. as simple as that and when he shared, i could feel faith building up in me. the things that he shared with me were things that i thought of for the cellgroup. not only i wasn't alone, there is someone who shares the same thoughts as i do!

many things happened as we chatted. xj called and said there wouldn't be games, but prayer meeting. eugene and i were talking and he shared about the importance of prayers. well, instantly a seed was planted and viola~ God moved His hand.

i felt a surge of faith rising up in me, something that i sorely missed throughout the day.

and now, something even greater happened. eugene prayed for a word and God showed eugene this verse.

1 Corinthians 4:16 - Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

when i read it, it was almost like God telling me to test Him. Timothy was like eugene, who reminded me about faith and being strong and the power of God is available.

so its like God shouting this into my ear, "TRY ME!!!"

as for eugene, heh~ all the best brosie=) all i can say is that God really misses you a lot~~ and the angels are cheering~~ rest assured, i'll be reminding you of 1cor 4:16=D=D=D

-

eugene shared about leadership in the cellgroup and i realized that it does actually make LOADS of sense. in the earthly way of explaining, i'll be using Manchester United.

a CGL is like Alex Ferguson. he's the manager, coach and AF's task is to train the players, motivate and inspire them. AF is also the visionary, whose vision is to capture the EPL, Euro Cup and FA Cup, thus getting the Treble.

similar to a CGL, a CGL trains, motivates and inspires the cellgroup members. a CGL is also a visionary who has a vision for the cellgroup and leads the cellgroup towards that vision.

what about CG Helpers? they are the PLAYERS. not any players but the influencial players. players like Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Gary Neville. each of them have DIFFERENT tasks.

Roy Keane is a Midfield Marshal, which means he commands the midfield of Man United. he's also the captain, that assists AF to motivate the players on the pitch.

Ryan Giggs is the one that delivers the crosses for RVN. his crosses has to be timely and most of the time, he's the one that gets tackled heavily.

RVN is the striker and his main task is to score goals. if he fails to do so, the team is unable to win.

G Neville is a defender and his task is to organise the defense. if the defense is shakey, the opponents are able to score goals easily. resulting in a loss.

can you imagine if they all decided to be like a GK? just stand between the poles and guard the goal, so that no one could score? it would be great, getting 1 point per match, but chances of winning the championship is zero!

but when each of them does their job, the team wins.

for cellgroup, the members are like the footballers. the ball is in our control and how we play the game is very important. we HAVE to know our roles in the cellgroup and we HAVE to contribute to it.

man utd didn't build on 1 person, but they build on teamwork and unity.

there would be challenges, teams like Arsenal and Chelsea. but do we bow down our heads in loss? NEVER! we got to fight, and keep on fighting!!!

if things have to be changed, we change and adapt! tactics have to be changed in real soccer matches. same goes for cellgroups! if its not working, change! things got to change!! if we're sinning, we got to CHANGE!!!

at the end of the day, i'm not wishing for Pastor Kong to call me on my HP and say, well done joel!! maybe you would like to preach to the congregation on sunday morning? NO!!

at the end of the day, i would want to know that i did something NOT of my own strength AND something that brings GLORY to God and He says, "Well done My faithful servant."

its surprising how God works.

i'm beginning to see a little bit of myself in a member in my cellgroup...

thinks highly of myself, has great dreams and visions, not really willing to listen, carries burdens that i didn't need to, think that i know everything... stuffs like that. after chatting with that member, i can't help but feel afraid.

one wrong choice, he could end up like a Gnostic person.

am i the ONLY one that feels that way?

i managed to wriggle out of that trouble is when i started to realize that i'm really puny in God's eye and at anytime, He's able to turn the tables and there i would be; at the end of the table.

i realized that i needed a leader in my life, so that i can learn and grow. no matter who the leader is, he/she is placed in my life for a reason.

i realized that fellowship with the cellgroup is important because they are the ones that change your life and thru fellowship, you grow.

i begin to realize that being in Christ is not about myself, but its about others. it doesnt mean that i disregard my relationship with God, but it simply means that my life doesnt revoke around me only. self centred.

c'mon. if you're reading my blog and you're from my cellgroup, especially xj, i really don't feel good about a particular thingy. lets DO something!? instead of letting things be the way it is and pray to God that things will change by its own.

faith NEEDS action and action NEEDS faith!!

its time.

to n272 - if you're reading and you feel that i've gone bonkers, please sms me. i'll gladly try to explain.

OLE OLE OLE~~ OLE OLE~~

hAhaz~ Singapore won the Tiger Cup 2005 with a aggregate score of 5-2!!

watching the match at home and watching it at in national stadium is certainly different. thank God there are soccer fanatics in Security and Brother TaiFong managed to get the tickets for those who were interested in going.

so, off we went to the national stadium.

the queue was SUPER DUPER long!! practically everyone was squeezing and trying to enter the gates and somehow, we managed to get to our seats with 1 minute to settle down.

when the game started, cheers erupted. but when the indo players gained possession, the ENTIRE stadium started booing them~ LoLz!! every single touch was met with a resounding jeer~

suddenly after 10 minutes and a blunder from a indo defender, Singapore scored the first goal of the match!! it happened so fast that we didn't really notice how did it happen, only until the people around us started cheering.

the atmosphere charged up and everyone was singing, cheering and doing the KALLANG WAVE!! HAhaz=P

then, the match got REALLY boring. the singapore defenders were just pumping the ball up to the strikers and all the strikers do is just sprint after the ball. there wasn't much proper build up of play and most of the players didn't control the ball.

so it was like - ball come, whack away.

until the moment when a Singapore player was brought down in the penalty box, everyone started cheering, and jeering at the indo players, the atmosphere charged up again~ Agu Kasmir scored from the spot and the stadium erupted.

most of the time, Brother TaiFong, Bro Michael, KaiKeong, Cain and i were entertaining ourselves~ when the second half started, the referee went on a yellow card spree and started giving out SO MANY yellow cards!! it even resulted in a Singapore player getting sent off because its his second yellow card.

most of the fouls committed by the indo players were left unnoticed, but MINOR fouls by the Singapore players were met with yellow cards~ shEeShHhh.. referee kelong manz!!

anyway, the match got exciting towards the end when Singapore finally played proper soccer and controlled the game pretty well, though indo scored a goal back.

after the prize presentation and stuffs, we headed to the old airport market and had our dinner. met up with Brother ChongKeng and other security personnels and talked about the match~ most of us had siminar thoughts that the game was pretty boring~ loLz=P

it was the crowd that made the experience lively, not the game. loLz=P

introducing the dream team.

GK - Iker Casillas

DR - Carlos Puyol
DL - Gianluca Zambrotta
DC - Rio Ferdinand
DC - Alessandro Nesta

AMR - Cristiano Ronaldo
AML - Vicente
DMC - Roy Keane
MC - Liam Miller
AMC - Francesco Totti

ST - Adriano

Subs -
Petr Cech
Ricardo Carvalho
Roberto Carlos
Gabriel Ivan Heinze
Javier Zanetti
Phillip Lahm
Ryan Giggs
Ronaldinho
Kaka
Figo
Dejan Stankovic
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Thierry Henry
Wayne Rooney

if you think that i'm gone, i'm still around.

there isn't much stuffs for me to blog about recently. life has been the same - wake up, stone, pee, take off clothes, adjust water hotness, wet myself, shampoo hair, soap, wash off, dry my hair, conditioner, brush teeth, rinse mouth, facial wash, rinse off conditioner and facial wash, dry myself, wear clothes, gel hair, pack bag, wear socks, wear shoes, open door, open gate, close door, close gate, lock gate, walk up stairs, walk towards lift, press lift button, wait for lift, enter lift, press 1st floor, press door close, stand, leave the lift, walk towards bus stop, wait, board bus, tap ez-link card, look for familar faces or pretty girls (usually non), sit if there's seats, stand if there isn't, stone again, alight, walk up overhead bridge, walk across, walk down overhead bridge, cross the road, walk towards bus stop, look for familar faces or pretty girls (usually non too), enter NP gates, walk towards class.

right. that's the journey from home to school. i've decided not to continue with the lessons cause there's loads of possibility of things happening and those are the moments when i use my braincells and think what should i do. loLz=P

i'm really bored.

sunday~~ i feel like i'm repeating myself every sunday - serve, powerful message delivered by Pastor Kong, had fun.

this time, the security ministry had a appreication dinner. bro chongkeng decided to have this dinner to appreciate everyone who had served God last year, no matter when we joined, and its also a time when we fellowship with one another.

it wasn't held at some posh restaurant, but at BEST coffeeshop! HaHaz=P

the food was great and there were loads of army talk at my table~ LoLz=P

my birthday was celebrated earlier too. was kinda a shocker when bro lennard said that we gonna celebrate a long due birthday and he started grinning at me. loL~ was really kinda paiseh as there were around 15 guys singing a birthday song for me. loLz=P

weilun had 100+ guys=x

well, received a tie from the ministry! its a maroon tie and its kinda nice~ more ties! woohoo!

very sleepy now. didn't sleep last night=/

singapore beat indonesia 3-1 in the first leg of the tiger cup finals!!

isn't that cool or what? lolz=) that result was quite a surprise and if indonesia didn't score that fluke goal at the very last second, it would be a "perfect" match for the second leg back in singapore.

earlier in the day, i went to meet natalie and we headed off to bugis. met up loads of former greenridge students along the way and one of them was elin. its been eons since i last saw her and i mistook her for natalie from the back.

natalie needed to upgrade her phone's software and i accompanied her to bugis. realized that the nokia care centre at bugis is closed after calling their hotline number~ hEh... then, we went to topman and after trying four shirts, i picked a shirt and thats my present from nat. loLz=P

so now i got two new shirts, two new ties and a new suit! praise the Lord!! nat wanted to buy a tie for me too, but the ties were kinda ugly~ loLz=P

squeezed into the mrt and headed to orchard.

this time, the nokia care centre wasn't closed at wheelock and when nat took her queue number, we realized that she's behind by a hundred people.

we had loads of time to eat and slack at borders before counting down at the nokia care centre.

eugene and josline met me and we went to look for huileng. that pretty girl is working at takashimaya, paperdoll, and after saying hi, we said bye. shEeSh... i wonder what was josline thinking about at that time~

went to natalie's oldest sister's place for dinner and played with their "terror" daughter~ loLz=P her daughter is kinda cute and she didn't terroize me, but kept playing toys with me=P maybe i'm just super attractive to kids. LOLZ!!

i'm gonna blog on something that would shock many people, possibly attract loads of attention from many kinds of people... okie. i'm just considering on that, but i do feel the need to explain some stuffs that might have confused many people...

well, i'm just considering and perhaps i would blog about it after intensive bible research...

i survived thursday!!

well, thursday ain't that bad afterall. minus the fact that its from 8am to 5pm and my lunch break is at 1pm.

i'm really starting to like EVP loads. though its programming and there's still codes to remember and stuffs, the sense of achievement when you do something yourself and when its a success is GREAT!!

who cares if its a simple program~ =P

-

sometimes, don't you just wish that there's a place where you can meet God and talk to Him face to face?

a place where its white all over and a Great Man seated on a chair with a warm smile on His face. then when you reach His seat, you realize that He's so huge, you seem so small. but when He lifts you up, you're taller then any mountains and you see countries right before you.

we're so small, yet God is able to use us so mightly.

but if we're not careful, our ego can cause us to fall from God's hand to ground zero. yes, no doubt that God would catch us. but the lesson would teach us to be humble for God honors the humble and shames the proud.

sometimes life can be extremely confusing. things happen around you and you wonder why. deaths, tsunamis, earthquakes set people asking if there's really a God, and if there's a God, why is all these happening? ain't God a loving God who loves His people?

if i had the answers to these mysteries, i would gladly reveal it. but the fact is that its written in matthew that before the second coming of Christ, there will be more quakes and deaths. so what we are going through right now, it maybe just the beginning and it maybe the last days.

things around us a rapidly changing and have you ever stopped and wondered why are you on earth? especially in Singapore, everything is so organised.

you go to school, study, graduate, work, get married and then retire. the govenment has everything planned out for you. some people are so caught in the rat race that they lose out on so many things in life they ought to know.

not just Christ, not just the Bible. but the true riches of life.

you spend as much as you earn and every month, you work towards that paycheck so that you can pay off your bills and loans given by PUB, Singtel, your Internet Service Provider, handphone bills and many more.

life is more then paying bills and chasing your tail everyday. you run in circles, get tired and worn out. but at the end of the day, you realize that you're still in the same place.

indeed, life moulds and changes you. you would say that you've changed and have been moulded by society. but is that what you really want in life?

i've always believed in simple living. but i know that simple living can be comfortable living too. living simple doesn't mean that i sleep on the floor, without aircons or i don't have a cosy home. simple living can be pampering myself and my family members everyday when we've abundance in finances.

of cause. money takes on the image of the owner, not the other way round. we do not let money control us=) so if you're a slave to money, you just work for money. but if you're not, then the money you have in your hands can be put to a good clause.

at the same time, you would have more then enough for you.

ain't God is a great God?

God is able to give us more then what we need. but does He trust us with His finances? heros of the Bible gained God's trust and they had abundance of wealth; Abraham, Jesus and Joseph. there's a lot more, but these three are the "famous" ones.

how did they gain God's trust?

just by seeking God's heart, purely, and obeying His commandments. besides that, they had an intimate relationship with God and many times, they had an encounter with Him. ain't that wonderful to have that happening in our lives?

its still possible because Jesus is from the New Testament and we're living in the New Testament! the miracles that were performed by the 12 disciples and Jesus is still working after 2000 years! the blind shall see, the lame shall walk and the crippled shall be set free!! hallelujah!!

not only that. God wants to prosper you and me. but do you want to receive His blessing, no matter how hard the journey maybe?

if i were you, i would stick onto God no matter what happens and trust Him to carry me through the valleys of death.

the truth has set me free, and its time for you to receive it too.

Hoobastank - The Reason

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
And the reason is you
And the reason is you
And the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

-

really nice song... meaningful too...

wOopiEe dEe dOo!!

came back from g2000!! =D

went to g2000 with my mom and i bought her to the suntec outlet. there were loads of people and loads of blazers for me to choose~ i guess they bought out the old stocks as some of them were badly crumpled.

managed to find a decent looking blazer, but spent loads of time hunting for the matching pants. found out that there isn't any size available for me, so my mom decided to buy the blazer first, then look for the pants else where.

after having dinner, we headed to bugis and found the matching pants. though its 2 sizes bigger, we bought the pants~ well, sizes can be altered and just a little alteration wouldn't cause much difference in the appearance~

mom insisted that i bought a plain coloured longsleeve shirt too~ and also insisted that i don't buy a tie in the shop. loLz=P saw this really nice dark blue tie, but wasn't allowed to buy... even the salesgirl was laughing when my mom said that she knows where to buy cheaper ties=P

well, finally i've a suit thats of my size and i won't look like i'm a little kid wearing a oversized coat=)

G2000 AND TOPMAN SALE!!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?

blazers going for as low as 69 bucks at g2000!!!!

i wouldn't mind getting more shirts, as long as its dark coloured, and ties!! =D=D=D=D=D=D

God bless YOU!!! in terms of finances, so that you can bless me=D=D=D=D

directly, God bless me!!! in finances!! HAhaahAza=X

i didn't want to blog until i watched the comedy show at channel 8.

today's feature is about dancing and the guy who did the striptease during the singapore idol auditions was there. the moment he appeared, i knew that it would be bad.

he started taking off his shirt and dance. i was so grossed out that i decided to throw the rubbish, which was extremely entertaining.

then, he did a little drama thingy and all he did was just to shout and look plain dumb.

the judges, 3 of them were females, were shocked. fann wong cried cause she was too scared, another actress beside her was in total shock too.

that guy said that the commitee invited him to the show for a performance. i thought its a total suicidal thingy to do. asking a crazy person who thinks that he's really attractive and people really like him to perform live.

then, he took off the shorts and claimed that the underwear he wore inside is trunks. heh. i didn't get to see that, and i wouldn't want to, cause the camera crew decided to add a cute little picture covering his trunks.

at that moment, lee guohuang got so pissed off that he walked off the recording studio. he left everyone in shock too. that thickskin guy was still smiling and enjoying himself. shEesh...

i wonder what would PM Lee think after watching that show.

PM Lee once said that that crazy guy is a example that we should follow, offering our services to people and said that his business plan is a good one.

anyway, i've no idea why this guy loves attention and does crazy stuffs like this on national TV. he claims that he wants to entertain, but his target audience isn't singaporeans i hope.

i really don't want to see a stupid yellow man stripping in my TV shows.

first sunday service of the year!! wOohOo!!

woke up extremely late and took a cab down to church. thank God i was still counted as early as i reached at 7.30am, but late for logistics.

service today was great~!! even though it was almost an repeat of last year's goal setting sermon, i was clearer of what Pastor Kong was teaching and had some of my goals written down already=P

then, i headed down to suntec, CHC education centre, for the tsunami offering counting.

the counting was really fast as there were more then 10 ushers present and they completed each service at a average time of 1 hour~ leaving loads of time to rest, eat and chat.

after getting released by Brother Lennard, i headed home and along the way, i saw that topman is having their year end sales. walked into the shop and started looking at shirts and ties. saw this black shirt that's kinda nice and i bought it.

there isn't any discount for that shirt because its a new design!! aHh!! but nevermind, its kinda nice=)

now i need more ties to match my shirts~ hAaz~ i've a blue striped and black striped shirt now, so i'll probably need a lighter shade of tie to match the shirt~ hEh=P -hinTz-

i realised that i'm always looking at the striped shirts~ loLz=P perhaps it makes me look taller...

reached home, realised that my table was in a total mess and i decided to do something about it. cleared all the junk on the table and suddenly, i was in a cleaning mood.

so i opened the drawers one by one and started to arrange and throw unwanted stuffs~

my room looks kinda neat now, and i'm considering to do a simple piece of display, with all my scout badges~ loLz=P found loads of badges when clearing my ancient drawers=P

i think i should start now~ ciao

its a new year!!!

yesterday was a super long day~ made use of the ENTIRE day to celebrate and play.

went to my cousin's place to celebrate and, as usual, i played with the kids. it was really tiring playing xbox and ps2 with them as my eyes were kinda dry and they were cheating~ so it got really boring for me, but extremely exciting for them.

well, can't blame~ kids are like that=P

then, i got dragged into a "disco" room and was forced to "dance" because its my birthday. didn't really dance but did something to "escape" from the endless pulling and cheering from them~

then at 12am, josline called and asked me to go kbox~ loLz=P i went because eugene's there and her cousin, huileng, is there~ a total babe~

made my way down to town and my phone batt went totally dead. but thank God when i went to look for them, i found josline standing at the escalator, waiting for us.

we ended up at party world because we could sing until 6am and there were rooms available for us. joyce bought wenxi and yulong along, but were in another room with their classmates~

it was really tiring~ everyone was tired and the more we sang, the worst we became? hAhaz=P anyhow, we survived till 6am.

i took loads of pictures last night at my cousin's place~ heh~ super cute nephews and nieces i have=D

starting with~~

JOY!! super cute girl, drinking her milk=X



Jameson, infected with madcow disease...



Janeen, madcow disease too...



and Jamie...



all i want for Christmas is my two front teeth~ Jett!!



i forgot his name=/



Jamie, trying to shoot Jameson, who was VR Man that time.



Joy, still drinking her milk, and him! =X



Joy with Jett, her body guard~



The Pro Gamers. Jameson and Quincy



The Pro Gamblers. James Kor, Francis Kor, Mom and Lucy Jie.



party boy!! jett!



well, obviously there's a lot more kids whose picture i didn't manage to take. kiddos like queenie and justin~ heh=P perhaps next time~

cute right my nephews and nieces? =D