270406

verses read: 1 Timothy 1

prayer: 5 minutes

A much more uplifting book to read. And after reading just the first passage in the book, I understand why pastor has chosen to do an entire series on this book. Very relevant to this day and age. Well, we will all get to find out more soon.

Last night I had a super scary dream. Dreamt my Taylor neck broke in half. Wasn’t funny. I guess that was a sign to restring my guitar, which I just did! Its going to be three years old soon, going to bring it in for it servicing soon.

Dragged myself out of bed to go to Bedok View secondary school. The nominations was so boring. At least they had a TV there to screen updates from CNA. Good thing is that East Coast will be contested, first time lucky.

Tomorrow will be Pentecost Encounter. Looking forward to this short retreat.

250406

verses read: Jeremiah 51:40-64
prayer: 5 minutes

Finally completed the penultimate chapter of the book. Only one left, and it is the epilogue regarding the fall of Jerusalem, which I’ve read before, but I will read again. Will be reading 1 Timothy next to be inline with the next series of sermons, I need to choose my slot as well.

Submitted my thesis at long last. It’s been a long while, wish I had more to write, probably submitted the shortest thesis in my cohort. And content wise it’s not very fantastic, at least to someone who took all the analysis based modules offered. To those who didn’t the project would be “impressive”.

Now that my thesis is out of the way, I will format my computer and have a fresh start. Really need that! Hopefully it is not going to be too complicated!

Tomorrow is my first and last day of exams for this semester. My only paper, Bahasa Indonesia. Didn’t really prepare for it, I don’t think I will fail, neither do I think I will score, so I will just sit for it. It will be alright! More than that, it might be the very last exam I ever need to take, pretty significant. Hopefully not, because I do want to do my Masters someday. But for now, it will be. Next year onwards, I will be marking and setting exams. How strange.

240406

verses read: Jeremiah 51:24-39
prayer: 5 minutes

This is actually a very scary passage to read. About the destruction of Babylon. While half of it seems to have already passed, there are parts of this passage that seem to have not taken place. And if you look at the fact that the modern name of Babylon is Iraq, it can really be quite scary to read.

Today was a really good day. For the first time in a long time, I woke up after the sun had risen. For the past few months, I would usually wake up at 6am, but then fall back asleep for another two to three hours. Good sleep!

Found out that my software update for the line6 edit was more than just a software update, it updated the firmware of my XTlive as well! So, I have a few more new amps and cabs to play around with, some new stomp boxes and 7 new WAHs. That’s not going to be good since my first and only paper is on Wednesday!

Going to make my final submission to the Mathematics Department tomorrow. Have finally been given the go ahead to do so. It’s been a long journey, and a new stage of life awaits soon! So, Wednesday, exams end for me, Thursday, is nominations day, I think I will take a walk to the nomination centre to watch the drama.

210406

verses read: Jeremiah 21-32
prayer: 5 minutes

Just came home from SG. Very fun indeed. This Sunday is going to be such a farce. A bunch of ex-members of parliament (at least till 6 May) are visiting PMC. Ordinarily, I think anyone will be honoured by their presence. And it’s not so much the visit, but rather the way its being done that is just upsetting everyone; just so robotic and insincere.

200406

verses read: Jeremiah 50:11-21
prayer: 5 minutes

This is a really long chapter! Not in terms of verses but in terms of words! It covers like three pages in my study Bible, well, slowly and surely. Nearing the end of this book; am deciding between Timothy, Lamentations and Psalms next.

Today, I sat in front if the television set waiting for news. And it finally came at about 4pm. Parliament was dissolved and the writ of elections issue! Exciting, it’s the first time that I am an eligible voter; and my constituency might be contested. Which is rare in Singapore! And considering my GRC had a number of serious heavyweights!

6 May. Unfortunately, that’s also Jason’s wedding. I wonder how everyone is going to find the time to vote! There is only a very small window of opportunity to do so. But with the election date announced, I can leave Singapore in peace and not worry that I will be missing all the action at home when I’m in USA.

My commencement ceremony date has also been announced. And of all days, it falls on a Sunday. While that is not really much cause to be worried about, it happens to fall on a special Sunday; Youth Sunday. Well, one comes around every year, the other, is once in a lifetime. So, I won’t be around in church for Youth Sunday this year, which is a good thing actually. My guitar string seems to have a tendency to snap on all these special occasions. At least I will have none of that this year!

Chicken Curry!!!!!

Was experimenting with this dish! Turned out pretty well, problem was it was way too hot! Need to use less curry powder!

Here is what I used:
- Chicken legs (boneless)
- one carrot
- garlic
- ginger
- onions
- green peas
- chicken stock
- spinach
- milk
- curry powder
- salt and pepper



Slice up the chicken. Marinate the chicken in the curry powder. This was a mistake. It made the chicken way too spicy!



Chop up the carrot, onions and garlic. And grate the ginger. I guess you can just chop up the ginger rather than grate it, but grating it makes it a lot more edible and a lot nicer to cook with.



Fry the garlic, onion and ginger.



Then the carrot.



When they are quite soft, I added in some chicken stock and some more curry powder. That made things really hot!



Then I added in the chicken and the milk. Boil until the chicken was cooked.



Towards the end of the cooking, I added in the spinach and the green peas.



Then add salt and pepper to taste.



Taste-wise, it was HOT and a little sweet due to all the veggies that went it. Could have done without the green peas, but was trying to finish everything in the fridge!

I'm back!!!!!!!

The last few days has been quite interesting... without internet access due to my laptop which died! At first I thought it was the CMOS battery, but that wasn't the case. Anyway, the long story is that after two years of very heavy use, my motherboard fried. The good news is that my laptop is still under warranty, so they replaced it free of charge! :)

I'm not complaining!

Next week, going to format my laptop. Badly needs a restart, then I will essentially have a new computer! Hopefully I can make this last for a long time!

130406

verses read: Jeremiah 46
prayer: 5 minutes

This passage begins the final portion of the book of Jeremiah. Another series of prophecies before the epilogue. Long chapters ahead.

Slept pretty well last night, only problem was the few minutes before I fell asleep, was thinking of something really deep, or so I thought. Someone had asked the question, “What is a real number” on Yahoo Answers. And some smart alec replied, “A real number is an element of an ordered field”. (Or so I thought that was the reply.)

So the following went through my head, if a real is an element of an ordered field, then the real number line has to be bijective to it. But then, the rationals also form an ordered field, but the reals and the rationals are certainly not bijective! The reals are not countable, unlike the rationals. So there seems to be a problem there! Well, when I woke up and we to check, I realise there wasn’t a problem after all, the actual answer was “A real number is an element of a complete ordered field.” According to what I found online, that is indeed true. Well, that’s what happens when you mix set theory and sleepiness together. Well, better than counting sheep.

Maundy Thursday, today is Maundy Thursday. And at tonight’s service, finally found out what “Maundy” means. It is actually derived from some Greek Word, which is the root word for “commandment” and “mandate”. So, Maundy Thursday is also a day to remember the last few commandments Jesus made before His crucifixion. Interesting, I must research on this more.

120406

verses read: Jeremiah 45
prayer: 5 minutes

I had a very peaceful sleep last night. No dreams, and though it was only a short one, like just over 4 hours, I woke up feeling very refreshed, like a great load had been lifted from my chest. It really felt good.

My Bahasa Oral exam was pretty okay, for the first two minutes at least! I wished I was as fluent as my partner but I wasn’t. Felt like I let her down a little, but well, at least she had two chances. Another thing to add, engineering girls, no matter how pretty they are, they are just geeks at heart! (To me, that’s a very good compliment!)

So I came home, plonked into bed and wanted to sleep the night away, but at the back of my mind, God was telling me to go to church. I told God that He would have to ruse me from my sleep, no sooner had I said that, my phone rang. Oh well, disobeyed God too many times already, so I made my way to church.

I’m glad I did, the new Chapel is nice. Acoustics are good, I won’t say they are professional level, but they are good. So when someone was speaking through the house system, it sounded like he was just speaking loudly rather than being amplified. Doesn’t have the reverb of the sanctuary; just the normal reverb that a room of that size should have. Good. But then, yesterday was without a full band, once the Youth are in, I think it might be a different story.

The sermon was about Judas, I wonder if it was that nicely timed to fit the “Gospel of Judas” issue that NGC has been pushing. But when I went home to watch the NGC documentary, I was actually quite appalled by it. Very biased towards the Gospel of Judas itself and the Gnostics; who were painted as the good guys.

I’m sad that the documentary missed out mentioning even earlier Christian texts that are actually canon. The books of First, Second and Third John. You only need to own a study Bible to know what these books are about, and even in my 10 year old Study Bible, way before Dan Brown or this NGC documentary, it already mentioned the Gnostics and why they were heretical. But that’s another issue altogether.

Interestingly, or perhaps sadly, Gnosticism does resemble a current phenomena; post-modernism. Sad but true. “There are no absolutes”, right! Problem is, I am a mathematician, and to me, I deal with almost nothing but absolutes. So the idea is foreign to me. But well, after that discussion last year at council, I have begun to see how it has affected the church, and the Youth Ministry in particular.

I’m surprised that so many are intrigued by this “Gospel of Judas” and because of that, are a little shaken as to how the Bible came about. Good thing we will be addressing this issue at YM soon.

110406

verses read: Jeremiah 44
prayer: 5 minutes

This passage marks the end of the longest narrative segment of the book. It’s the same theme as the rest of the book though, mostly doom and gloom and punishment for disobedience. Well, like I’ve told many before, as we strive to be bold, let’s not disobey God in the process. Consequences are worse than we can imagine.

This month will also mark a lot of “lasts” for me. Last CG, last council meeting, last official lesson in NUS, and today, last VCF FT. And of course, the second last time I will be singing the VCF anthem. It’s been quite a ride, and I’ve kept a perfect track record. I’ve not missed a single FT in my four years in VCF. Very soon, I will be taking what could be my last exam in NUS, and soon I will be sitting on the other side of the examination scripts, the marker!

Felt the Lord telling me that since it was my last FT, I should spend sometime with the rest eating supper, glad I did. It was certainly an interesting time of sharing and hearing the thoughts of those who have gone before me. It has certainly energized me a lot for the next part of life.

On the way home, Jianming shared about his interview with MOE, when he was asked the standard question, “Why do you want to teach?” Apparently every candidate is asked that question, my answer, “Because I enjoy learning myself, and what better way to pass on this love for learning than to become a teacher.” Might sound like propaganda, but it was my honest answer. Jianming’s answer, “Because I want to preach the Gospel of Christ!”

Anyway, good chat I had, am really looking forward to a new life come June.

100406

verses read: Jeremiah 43
prayer: 10 minutes

All I can say after reading this chapter is that the Israelites really deserve it. They really asked for such a heavy judgement, after seeming to be so repentant just two chapters before, now they have hardened their hearts again.

Some people have washboard abs, I on the other hand have a washing machine for a stomach. My stomach started acting up again, I guess that’s for eating stale food that had been in the fridge for far too long. Not been able to cook in the recent days due to all the activities I’ve been having, and that really isn’t pleasant. hope it won’t be like this once NIE begins.

Bought the collectors DVD edition of Chronicles of Narnia. Figured that there won’t be an extended version due to the fact that most of the book was already covered in the movie. Wonder if there is an “easter egg” though. Bought the whole series of novels last year, but only just began reading them a few weeks ago, am at book 5 now.

This weekend is giving me a headache. Not because I’ve not figured out what to do, it’s just too many things to do! But for the sake of spreading the Gospel, it is but a small sacrifice.

070406

verses read: Jeremiah 41:1-15
prayer: 5 minutes

Had the final Council Meeting of my time in VCF yesterday night. The devotion really spoke to me a lot; it was another answered prayer by God. It was about Jesus, even while He was a leader, He took to time to rest and made sure His own disciples had their rest. And He rested for a variety of reasons. This has been what I’ve praying about the last few weeks, so it’s quite clear on what I need to do next year. Will make it known to the relevant people soon.

Tried Mama’s curry powder, it was serious stuff, but still need to tweak the recipe. Maybe I added into much vegetables today, it tasted a little too sweet. Defrosting a salmon steak in the fridge right now, weird to have it for breakfast, but will need some food before badminton!

Pesto

Not had time to cook much lately, but since I am a little stoned after doing corrections to my thesis, I thought I take some time to post some food!

Here is a pasta sauce that I read about in a cookbook. It's called pesto, basically, you can use it to enhance the flavour of any pasta sauce. It's expensive to make though, they sell canned versions of this sauce and they are actually cheaper.

Ingredients
Basil Leaves
Pine Nuts
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil



Just take the whole lot and process it in a food processor. That's it! Simple! It can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks.



Will show some recipes I made that involved using this sauce to enhance the flavour.

050406

verses read: Jeremiah 40:1-6
prayer: 5 minutes

God is really good. Answered one of those unanswered prayers from yesterday. So I feel so much more at ease now.

Had my final CG gathering of my time here in VCF. Had dinner at Thai Express. Food was good, the wait for the food wasn’t. Tomorrow will be my final council meeting for VCF. Not driving, will be a long ride home.

It’s interesting the kind of responses I get when I tell people that “I’m studying mathematics at NUS”. Usually they go “WOAH!”. Today I had the best response of all, “MATHS?! What kind of freak are you?” Well, a maths freak I guess.

040406

verses read: Jeremiah 39
prayer: 5 minutes

This is an incredibly sad passage to read. The fall of Jerusalem. Yet at the end of the chapter God still promises mercy and relief to the remnant.

Today has been an interesting day to say the least. The most bizarre part of the day came when I received two SMSs from overseas. This is what they read, “So sweet.. 2 of u r together again.. No more changing of church I reckon..” and “Oops. Sorry. Wrong no.” Wish it wasn’t a wrong number. But well; get over it and move on!

Helped Jason with his wedding tonight. Food tasting! It was a good meal. Ritz Carlton eight course dinner. I can’t wait for the actual day itself. I’m driver and I get to drive a Lexus. So once again, no complains!

I can’t help but smile to myself nowadays. The days ahead are very exciting indeed. Have a lot of unanswered prayers still. But I get the feeling that I will get my answers soon enough.

This is essentially the last week of school for me. Three more lessons and I think I will be done. Tomorrow is the last CG. My last CG in VCF. It has been four years of learning and growing. Of being humbled, of struggling through trials. Of being showed a whole new dimension of worship. Of being awed of the glory of God.

Three more weeks, and it will be over. And life will begin anew.

030406

verses read: Jeremiah 38:14-28
prayer: 5 minutes

Reading this passage, I can only think of one thing, “The truth really hurts”.

Registered for my progress package; its flagrant vote buying. But then, when I look at things, the government has given me about $2000 through economic restructuring shares, edusave and now this. While that is less than my would-be starting pay come July, it’s still $2000 than what other governments give their citizens. So I’m not complaining.

Three weeks more to graduation. This time it’s graduation for real. Got to put the “finishing touches” to my thesis by then. Don’t think it will be a problem though. And after that, what happens? Two month break and a new life begins.

Has it already been four years? I can still remember it like yesterday when I stepped into LT25 to begin the FOW and meeting friends who would accompany me through many unforgettable times. I can still remember the day I auditioned for the music ministry, the welcome tea at East Coast Park and the first meeting at YIH. Who would have imagined where that would have led me to?

But it’s strange that as I look back, I leave the VCF with a lot of regrets, and even bordering on burn out. But yet, I leave the Department of Mathematics very energized and all fired up to go on to my next station in life. And now, especially after the last few weeks and last Sunday’s meeting, I see a hope in salvaging the mistakes I made in the last four years.

Yes, the truth hurts. But at the end of the exile there is the comfort in the knowledge that God has a good plan for me. And now I see a very much bigger picture in facing up to the truth.

hehehe...

well... thanks to Ber, I've spent the past 30 minutes solving math problems for lazy students on Yahoo! Answers... then I stumbled on this post (which is a little to crude to post here):

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkMUQ6EABBjyq85U_FxrVGPzy6IX?qid=1006033107287

010406

verses read: Jeremiah 37
prayer: 5 minutes

Had a really good game of badminton today. Played for almost two hours straight. Realised it makes a difference whether you eat breakfast or not. Long day today. Will be another long day tomorrow. Good thing I was spared April fool’s jokes.

310306

verses read: Jeremiah 36
prayer: 5 minutes

This is the famous or rather infamous incident about the king burning up Jeremiah’s scroll. It’s a story I new for a long time, but never knew that there was so much more to it. Especially after reading the context and all.