Cool msg :) >>>
Sunday, May 27, 2018
10:56 PM
10:56 PM
D-popotamus left his footprint
here...
Lawn mowers with mushroom soup! >>>
Saturday, May 19, 2018
10:35 PM
10:35 PM
Church last saturday was rather eventful because I went to the teen's zone for the 1st time, after tailing Julia, for her testimony. Anyway, I learnt about the GDOP, global day of prayer: http://www.gdop.sg/2017/
Youth GDOP Hall 10, Singapore Expo @ 3pm, 31 May 2017
BE THERE!!! (coz admission is free)
Those who are coming let me know PLEASE!! =D
Anyway, back to reality:
CCA Exco positions for my CCAs are out.
iComp
Pres: Fong Yi Han
Vice Pres: Me
Secretary/Treasurer: Pee Choon Hian
Video Head: Zhu Xi
Asst Video Head: Goh Ze Wei
IT Head: Timothy Tee
and for PA Crew
VJC 26th PA Crew
Pres: Tay Si Yun
Vice Pres: Pee Choon Hian
Technical Specialist: Me
Secretary: Lei Xiao
Treasurer: Huang Qin
Welfare Head: Lim Cheng Yee
Sigh...
Anyway, I don't want to spend too much time on CCA as well. But anyway, Good luck to the excos. I don't even know who is medsoc exco as of now, btw.
D-popotamus left his footprint
here...
Temptations....... .......... Confessions? >>>
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
11:22 PM
11:22 PM
I was in church today and the sermon was on Genesis 39: 1-20. It was about the beginnings of how Joseph, became the prime minister of Egypt. (The most powerful man in Egypt). Most of the sermon was about resisting temptation and stuff, but there's a short part about how he served to his utmost best, under then influence of the Lord, despite being a slave and how the Lord blessed him, and all...
Joseph a Slave in Egypt
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.
6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,
12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,
14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.
15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.
17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me;
18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.
20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.
23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Anyway, sidetrack abit. About the temptation part, I think it is quite relevant to us. At cell, we discussed about how temptations actually come to us in real life. One example: Pornographic sites. It is true about how it is impossible to provide 100% censorship in the internet. But the debate here is not about censorship. That's GP. However, one thing that can really be learnt is about how we should overcome all temptations, but run away from one type: Youthful lust That was what was preached to me. How much you agree doesnt not matter. These secret sins aren't as straight forwards as normal ones. These include sinful thoughts. For example just looking at a girl with a lustful look is a sin to God, even though we did not do anything. Its the thought that actually matters. And one way to overcome this kind of sin is to make it no longer "secret" If it is no longer secret, the sin can no longer manifest. Thus the need for confession. It was really enlightening for me.
Well, if any of you friends close enough to me and is a believer in need of confession, feel free to contact me. Perhaps we could meet and talk/pray some day. I'm sure even if i'm not the best person to look for, I could find the help of people in better positions than me =D
D-popotamus left his footprint
here...
Reflections and enlightenment. >>>
11:16 PM
11:16 PM
We all live what we call "life" every single day. For many of us, we awake, wash up, get ready for work or school. After which, we come home, have dinner, do some stuff and then go to bed. We look forward to weekends when we can go out and have some fun. Sure, this is a typical person's lifestyle (not to generalise though). So, what is the definition of "fun" that we are talking about here?
We work hard, and slog it out in the working world, whether in a large company or in a sole proprietary firm. For youths, we study hard to get a good job. Why? Because Mummy and Daddy says, "Work hard now and enjoy later." Definitely. I agree completely to this. But this is at the expense of what? We are constantly in search of this thing called "Happiness". We study hard to get a well paying job, so that we can retire early and 'enjoy'. So, correct the following if I'm wrong:
We study hard in Primary school to get a good PSLE certificate. - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
Then in Secondary school, we study even harder to get an even better 'O' Level certificate (exceptions for IP students) - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
After which, we work our heads off to get a Even Much More Alot (EMMA) better 'A' Level result (or diploma/equivalent) - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
Then, for the guys, we try hard to get into OCS. - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
Following that, we study extremely hard, again, for our degree/honours/(and subsequently Masters and PhD) - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
Then we work hard, put in extra hours of OT in order to climb the career ladder. - (Work hard now, enjoy later)
By this time, we are already in our 40s, 50s even. (Do we want to still continue working hard? Because work hard now and enjoy later?)
FINALLY, we retire.
"Work hard now, and enjoy later." What does "Work Hard" mean? Exactly how hard do you work? I know some of you out there have parents' just like mine. Their definition of "Work Hard" equals to ZERO time for TV, ZERO time for NAPs, ZERO time for relaxation.
I'm not sure if anybody has come across parents who say "You didn't work hard in primary school. Now you're in Secondary School. No more play time for you - you used up your 'quota' in Primary school". I know, I know... the "quota" thing is completely absurd! But alas, my parents subscribe to that belief!
Different people define happiness differently. True enough, there is a constant pursuit towards happiness. If I have 1 arbitrary unit of happiness, I will want 2 tomorrow. Then there will come a point whereby nothing can satisfy your happiness. Just like the central problem of economics. Scarcity occurs when there are finite resources to satisfy infinite want. So, we have seen case studies of poor people who live happily. Then our parents will say "Count yourself lucky! They have no food, or water... blah blah blah" But for the average you and me, I believe it will not be easy bringing ourselves to that level. Surely, this work hard now, play hard later doesn't make sense to everyone (i guess). We (are supposed to) work hard on the basis that IF we work hard now, we can accumulate this hard work into our "bank" and enjoy the fruits of our labour later.
BUT THINK:
Life is unpredictable. How do you know you will still be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour when the time comes? (eg. You die in a traffic accident, or u choke on your food and suffocate) Touch wood.
Now, I am not encouraging people not to work hard. Not working hard in the society today is a big nono since it is tightly correlated to our success. If you don't work hard, you don't have money to feed yourself and you will die. (probably not, because of the government)
Now it comes to the BIG question: IS ALL THIS HARD WORK WORTH IT?
To some people yes, to others, no. This explains delinquents who are at arcades playing from 2pm to 6pm on a daily basis. Then on the other extreme, you have the muggers.
钱不是万能，但无钱，我们万万不能。
This is most definitely true. When we talk about making big bucks, we are almost always looking at things money can buy. Big house, big car, big headlights (ahem! - if you can get the inference) This is based on the assumption that these things can give you happiness. Well, it may not always be true because you have to stress yourself over maintenance etc.
But anyway, I feel the most important thing is that we are happy with what we do. I try to make my work fun whenever possible, though it is not always so. When you find what u do fun, it no longer becomes work - work becomes enjoyable. Yes, it is indeed easier said than done, and I truly salute people who are able to do so.
Different people have different aspirations. I just cannot comprehend how some people are content at making considerably little money in their job, but choose it because, well, it's fun. It is the passion that is burning deep within that drives these groups of individuals. For them, life is not all about money and fame. For one, I am a service oriented person - serving others make my day. I have dedicated much of my time serving the people around me - church, school, alma maters... Well, I do take pride in what I do, no matter how inconspicuous my presence may be. But one thing that I cannot do, is to do what was mentioned earlier in the paragraph. Still, I feel that the monetary rewards are greater in one way or another. Perhaps I'm not so noble after all.
For me, service is all about sincerity. Hypocrites exists in many service industries. I am determined not to be one of them. CIP Hours is the last thing on my mind when it comes to serving other. There are times when I seriously go the extra mile for the people around me. At times at the expense of myself. However, there are also countless numbers of times where these small acts go unnoticed. Others before self, indeed. For one, I'm not the kind to be filled with despair. I serve because I want to serve. If somebody says "thank you", it really makes my day. In short, I just want hope to be appreciated by those around me, and make a difference to the lives of others.
Speaking about service, my serving at LSBC has been a very enjoyable one so far. Not that it doesnt have its ups and downs. But it's one of the few organizations that actually do appreciate their crew members. One example is the Evoke your dreams competition at church. Some VJC people performed dances at the competition too - GrooV and Funky Three. The whole thing was rather badly planned (in my opinion) but the timeline was tight. After the whole event, there's this appreciation dinner that I'm going for and there's an email which the youth pastor sent out to thank people. Here it is: (I'm not sure if it's a good thing to post it here. I'll remove it if need be)
From: DANIEL LIM@LSBC
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2017 2:11 PM
To:
Subject: Evoke Thanksgivings!!!
Hi All
Finally I have a chance to share with you the tremendous success and thanksgiving of “Evoke Your Dreams”.
The list of thanksgiving is long and varied! But we want to thank God, LSBC members and staff team for the following :
1) Barriers Broken – I think the major breakthrough of the event is dismantling the mindsets of many youths and their parents about church. Many had walked away were awed and surprised that church can be so relevant, fun and exciting. A youth and her mum said that “it broke all my misconceptions about church!” Thank God for the barrier broken between community youth and our church.
2) Fantastic turnout – we had 1000youths that came in all sizes, shapes and styles. It was heartwarming to see so many of them. As the youths entered the auditorium, they were stamped with our lsbc mark on their hand for identification purpose. A youth ldr prayed as she stamped each hand that God will seal them in His salvation one day!
3) Wonderful program – I rec an sms fm Leon the CCC chairman on the morn after saying how fantastic program was. Some even said that it was better than the super band program done by Mediacorp!
4) High quality teams – the quality fm the finalist this yr was definitely higher than previous and it was really entertaining. But we also had a great time bonding with the finalist thru the rehearsal and some of them came back to visit our Youth ablaze during last 2 weeks.
5) Our LSBC teams – Invading Teddys and Full Vacancy – althot they did not win but they certainly did their best and did us proud!
6) Youth Ablaze youths – for rallying their friends, and extending their friendship to as many youths on that day as possible.
7) Profit – we’ve just finalized our financial calculation. And after deducting all the cost for the prizes, food, publicity, everything we have a profit of S$499.55! We were expecting a loss of S$800 initially. This is significant as it encourages us that our God is a faithful God and the profit though little is so meaningful in a time of recession like this.
I want to specially thank some people who had worked extra hard in this event. They are :
Special Thanks for Evoke are:
Kevin Loy (sound and set up), Doris Lim (usher IC and vip room help), SP (wise advice), Facility & maintenance ofc under Tony (special regards to uncle James and the 2 PRC friends), Roy (carpark), Chris Wong (security) and the LSBC surprise music team (James Lee, Jon Tsang, Kevin Loy, Linus, Jun Wen)
Young pple side:
Doreen teo ( OIC for décor, blog, Facebook grp), Emelyn (emcee + wrote draft of the script), James (emcee + train Take 2’s performance), ND quek (backstage emcee), Benjamin Leow (volunteer to DJ for post party), Rastus & Rasmus (DJ-ing), Stefanie Thia (IC for post party), Helpers such as Clarissa, Sophia Sim, Jed, Yong Yang, Joshua Yeong, aunty Ivy
Technical:
Jasmine & team includes Darren (videographer), Kar jun & Joel Seah (photographers), Joan (lightings), Leslie (sound), Ernie (projection), abt 15 ushers from main conger.
Elders: for showing their support and helping to host the VIPs.
But we also need to thank God for giving us good staff that planned, executed and ran the whole event. The event was chiefly coordinated by Wanhui but she was supported by Ruth, Shuen & Beatrice in various aspects.
Above all we want to thank all who came. You may not ‘did’ anything but your mere presence make the difference on that day. All of you were like yeast that soften the bread (community).
Cheers!
dl
As usual, my name is misspelt with a double r. But heck. At least, me, as one meagre member of the crew is appreciated. To me and the others inside, this simple gesture is a strong affirmation that "hey, you're part of the team" and tells us that we are not neglected. This is not so in other larger organizations. Eg. VJC. Well, the team dynamics are different, but i'm serving in 2 of the most demanding service CCAs after the councils. In fact, it is debatable that PA may be the most demanding CCA. Like I said before, there's nothing to drive me to serve in VJC. The equipment is crap for now. U lose the passion to serve. Furthermore, there's no recording studio. Our cams for iComp are REALLY REALLY crappy, and its EXTREMELY DEMORALIZING. I know the limitations and all, but I really thing the school is in bad shape in terms of media. So what if everything else is good?
For church, even though LSBC doesnt have the best equipment, its decent enough to meet your demands and stuff. However, even if it is not so, its service to God that is the main driving factor. There's no "WHY".
I'll followup my church post in another post later.
I was in church today and the sermon was on Genesis 39: 1-20. It was about the beginnings of how Joseph, became the prime minister of Egypt. (The most powerful man in Egypt). Most of the sermon was about resisting temptation and stuff, but there's a short part about how he served to his utmost best, under then influence of the Lord, despite being a slave and how the Lord blessed him, and all...
Joseph a Slave in Egypt
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.
6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,
12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,
14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.
15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.
17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me;
18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.
20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.
23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Anyway, sidetrack abit. About the temptation part, I think it is quite relevant to us. At cell, we discussed about how temptations actually come to us in real life. One example: Pornographic sites. It is true about how it is impossible to provide 100% censorship in the internet. But the debate here is not about censorship. That's GP. However, one thing that can really be learnt is about how we should overcome all temptations, but run away from one type: Youthful lust That was what was preached to me. How much you agree doesnt not matter. These secret sins aren't as straight forwards as normal ones. These include sinful thoughts. For example just looking at a girl with a lustful look is a sin to God, even though we did not do anything. Its the thought that actually matters. And one way to overcome this kind of sin is to make it no longer "secret" If it is no longer secret, the sin can no longer manifest. Thus the need for confession. It was really enlightening for me.
Well, if any of you friends close enough to me and is a believer in need of confession, feel free to contact me. Perhaps we could meet and talk/pray some day. I'm sure even if i'm not the best person to look for, I could find the help of people in better positions than me =D
To conclude, life as it is - Make the best out of it. We're here on earth, so let us make a significant impact on others while achieving our goal. No matter what our goals are and how difficult it is to achieve, I believe that if it is for the good of youreself, your family/friends, and society, you will have God's blessing in everything that you do. Enough said. Nil Sine Labore (yah, I know very corny)- Nothing without labour.
Cheers!
D-popotamus left his footprint
here...
