random pics from my hp

when my sis and i took a lil' trip to singapore, we got to know of a jazz by the sea thingy on sentosa island, best thing? free? it was neat.





yep, that's my boss with his wife, both NOT technologically-challenged, mind u! dun play-play...very techie one...

me, vun hau and steffi - one of those 'ooh, let's take a picture!' moments :) we were all in cool white & blue...two awesome student youth ldrs. and yes, that's my ever-ready mum behind steffi! poser.



no, it's NOT all urs, alvin. sharing is caring, remember? who's this guy?? another awesome youth ldr...mr. volunteer staff & intern of the year! also mr psycho, watch out when he's staring at u... God knows what's he thinking, probably analysing you to bits. HELP! he's making animal sounds sitting next to me...

it is now. joshuas, arise!

Joshua, Joshua, Joshua.

How did you feel when Moses laid his hand on you and appointed you successor over 2 million ungrateful grumbling Israelites? Of course, they weren't all that bad. But still.

How did you feel, really, when out of the 12 spies that were sent out, only you and Caleb had faith to possess God's promise, but majority won and your positive report was over-ruled by 'grasshoppers'?

How did you feel when Moses, at 120 yrs old, died, and left you with his unfulfilled mission to accomplish, and the people you are now to lead doubt God's presence is with you?

How did you feel, i wonder, when God keeps telling you to 'be strong and courageous' at a moment when the whole nation's future is uncertain and at the threshold of destiny before stepping into Canaan (which was seemingly an impossible dream for over 40 years) by just meditating on His Word? i mean, you need battle plans and strategy meetings and nation management seminars, man.

And then, God says to move out toward the Jordan river during flood season, and you are to bring everyone to cross over through swollen waters and treacherous undercurrents, without actually giving you a detailed instruction manual or the guidebook 'How To Part Waters - For Dummies version 2.0', how DID you feel?

what WERE you thinking?

it was harvest season, and time was ripe to cross over! God already set apart the Promised Land, just waiting for Israel to conquer city by city. you led the people to win battles and proved God's faithfulness and power - "[God] did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that [we] might always fear the LORD [our] God." Joshua 4:24

i'd love to meet you and talk to you, if only you were still around. maybe borrow that guidebook, since you don't really need it anymore. we kinda need to part some waters down here, it's harvest time again.


i learnt from studying Joshua 3:
1) preparation together (3:1-5)
2) primacy of the Ark (3:6, 11)
3) positioning of leaders (3:7-8, 12-13)
4) possession of God's promises (3:9-10, 14-16)
5) perseverance to the end (3:17)

God's Kingdom is near. His people are to claim His promises but that won't be fulfilled until we step out in faith to touch the water's edge. only then, will waters part. are you staying on the east side of Jordan afraid to cross over? it's harvest time. the time is ripe.

Martin Luther King, Jr (another water-parter) said, "The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy."

stand in the river, or die of famine.
cross over now, or the land lost to the Enemy.
be a Joshua. be a Joshua-follower. just don't be a grasshopper!

today.

sometimes the days feel hollow.
your thoughts wander and you push it to brighter thoughts, then an invisible magnet pulls your thoughts in towards the same pestering thoughts again. and you push, again.
and you think about what you would do the rest of the day...sleep in?
there are a million things you can line up in your schedule. get this done, get that fixed.
maybe then you could really take your mind off those troubling thoughts... yeah! tempting. cause you can't just mope around, that'd be hollow!
but no, that wouldn't do. you know that.
your day would be truly hollow if you spend the hours escaping your thoughts. deal with them, you repeat to your heart.
'deal with it!' almost with a harsh tone. as if to wake yourself up from bed. 'no sleeping in for today, my blood-pumped friend...'
or actually, really wake up to face the day.
a slap to sober up.
quit moping.
let that magnet pull, it's ok.
don't fight it.
it won't hurt. (or will it?)

tomorrow?
no, today.

note to self: meditate on Psalm 103 again.

The LORD is my Rock and my refuge,
He is my substance and my Sustainer;
He fills my mouth with praise,
from the light of day to the chill of night He is my song,
who knows me in my silence,
and sees my heart's contents;
His lovingkindness is my rampart,
my rearguard through the valley of pain,
my shield through the pit of doubt;
all my life will i praise Him alone,
for He anchors my soul and heals my spirit,
and makes me whole.
today.

Climb of the Year

may 24-25.


it was a really personal, reflective climb this round...i spent most of my time pondering over 2-3 issues, and memorized a chapter from the bible. every time i climb, it's like a pilgrimage, almost therapeutic for my soul. i can't describe the feelings i get everytime i make the ascent up Mt Kinabalu.....whether i arrive at the peak or not, the journey up is always stirring for me. amidst the busyness of life, i see the vital life-giving breath of freshness such pilgrimages do for a person - when you take time (or rather, guard your time) to ensure you do something just for plain pleasure and soul-care, it can do wonders.

i loved this climb, particularly because the company was great, the weather was awesome, and God really amazed me - i was wowed again by Mt K's beauty, and my frailty next to it (but still can sampai the top, hehe!)...

painful tho it was, i guess it's just like what's said in the movie Transformers, "No sacrifice, no victory!" life demands our sacrifice, even a good life. sometimes the air thins, the wind blows, the hatmask goes missing - but life goes on...climb on.

have YOU climbed? sabahans, climb!

food for thot: "There may be more to learn from climbing the same mountain a hundred times than by climbing a hundred different mountains." ~ -Richard Nelson

of bbq and rain and charades and gideon's 300

the bbq was a blast! we had SUCH great fun and laughter.....the food was pretty good too....enjoyable and memorable nite. to all you guys who were there - YOU made it happen! two thumbs up!



the NOT ready...



and the ready.


are YOU ready? be like gideon's 300.

abraham - isaac = simple obedience

"There will be times when the world around us will be in total darkness. We will not be able to see more than a few feet in any direction...but we have this guarantee: if we are sincerely obeying the Word of God as it is revealed to us in any given situation, we will never walk in the dark. (Psalm 119:105)...this however applies only to one specific area: the place where we are to plant our next footstep.

God does not promise us that we will be able to see more than one step ahead. Beyond that, we may have no way of knowing what awaits us - but that is not our concern. All that God requires of us is to take the next step of simple obedience to His Word.

Our greatest danger is that we will seek to peer too far ahead into the darkness. In so doing, we may miss the place for our next step, which is the only area illuminated for us at that moment. "

~ quoted from Derek Prince

Reminder to self: Obedience to God's Word will keep you in the path that leads to EVERYTHING GOOD He has planned for you.

as the song 'Blessed Be Your Name' says:

blessed be Your name

on a road marked with suffering

where there's pain in the offering

blessed be Your name

every blessing You pour out i'll turn back to praise

when the darkness closes in Lord, still i will say

blessed be the Name of the Lord

blessed be Your Name

blessed be the Name of the Lord
blessed be Your glorious Name

You give and take away

You give and take away

still my heart will choose to say

blessed be Your name

so i yield to You, in the darkest of night, stormiest of times, even if You ask for me to sacrifice 'Isaac', i choose to say "my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior..." as Mary did. simple obedience? tough.