Sick.

I've been down with throat infection the past few days. The sore in my throat was so unbearable that I could hardly speak or eat. I'm feeling much better after taking some medication for it, though it still hurts slightly. I guess it must be quite bad, since the doctor gave me an MC for today.

Symptoms of tonsillitis include a severe sore throat (which may be experienced as referred pain to the ears), painful/difficult swallowing, headache, fever and chills, and change in voice causing a "hot potato" voice. Tonsillitis is characterized by signs of red, swollen tonsils which may have a purulent exudative coating of white patches (i.e. pus). There may be enlarged and tender neck cervical lymph nodes.

I don't think my throat infection is that bad, but you roughly get the picture. Hope things get really better by tomorrow, so at least I can make it for the buddy group dinner. Seems like we are going to have steamboat.

Bumming around

I've been able to clear my off in recent days. It helps to be finally be able to slowly detach myself from my national service, and it's about time i guess?

Will be heading down to Azhars for dinner with my cell group. It's an unusual day to be meeting for dinner, since it's in the middle of the week instead of the typical friday dinner meetings, in the midst of all the work and studies for some, if not most of us. Good for me though, since I'm on off anyways :o)

I've gotta head down there for my holidays after my ORD. It really seems like a nice place to visit, and I guess the main obstacle in my way would be the money needed to go there. I think it's rather costly, but still worth going to.

Was tagged on this picture by Vincent on Facebook. This picture was taken roughly 2 years ago during the Christmas period, when we were preparing for the Christmas outreach event in Tanglin Halt. Looking back, it was both a rewarding and a fufilling experience, one that still stays on my mind even up to now. When it was announced that there will be another outreach event this year, I had the impression that we were going to be doing the same thing again, but having checked with Jingying, I realised the the plan is different this year. The plan for this year is not to hold a concert event in Tanglin Halt, but rather it is to be blessing the neighbourhood by doing door to door blessing I think. God has always put his favour on the Tanglin Halt Ministry, and I'm sure this year will be no exception. The event clashes with the sectional camp since it is on the 20th of december, so I would have some difficulty helping out. Time to to shift my focus to helping out in the swimming days for Tanglin Halt :o)

A Long Break

I took 3 days off, which actually started yesterday all the way to friday. It's kinda like the longest break I've taken ever since the time I passed out of BMTC. I'm sure the next 3 days are going to be filled with total relaxation and maximum enjoyment, it does feel good.

Just bought my copy of Fifa 2009, and my goodness the gameplay is simply spectacular. It definitely looks more like the real thing, and it even adds in characteristics of certain players and what they actually do on the pitch (E.g Cristiano Ronaldo's posture during a free kick) and you simply gotta give thumbs ups to the EA Sports for making such an incredible game that transcends it earlier editions.

It's really good, and football lovers should really get a copy of the game. Trust me, it will be very difficult to find faults with this game.

You may ask why David's picture is here. Well, this is simply because I feel that he's the model footballer, regardless of what happens off the pitch. He's the kind of player who seems to play better when the odds are stacked up against him, and you can see his heart for the game when he's playing for England. Unlike other "star" players, he doesn't demand to be on the starting lineup or that he keeps his jersey number, but he would simply be contented to be part of the team, and he trains even harder to remain on the team. I don't really admire the "commercialised" version of David, but he is a great player on the pitch nonetheless.

" A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenceless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart sceptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if he has failed over the years to listen to his own doubts, which should over be discarded after long reflection. Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts, not only their own but the perople around them as well." adapted from "The Reason For God".

We need to be aware of the doubts that may reside in our hearts and begin to ask God to reveal His Wisdom to us so that we may begin to understand the Truth as well as the reason behind our doubts in the first place as well. Only when we are able to acknowledge our human doubts and trust in God to help us through it will we begin to be better equiped to help others who may wrestle with such doubts in their lives. Being able to handle human doubts with the guidance from God will allow our faith to be built on things of more solid foundations. Having doubts should not push us away from God, but it should push us to have the desire to overcome them through proper reflection so that we may then begin to have a clearer understanding of God and our relationship with Him will strengthen as a result.

A Different Sunday.

Didn't really do much today. I was supposed to be playing soccer at 5pm at Bishan Park Secondary with the church guys, but my right foot was hurting so much that I could barely walk properly, much less be able to play a full soccer match. I ended up going back home to rest, with the hope that my foot would get better with some more rest. The pain in my foot was made worse yesterday since I played soccer in the evening at Ngee Ann with the pain. It was slightly uncomfortable, but I was able play throughout the evening, and it was only when I reached home did the pain began to surface out on a larger scale. Definitely more pain ful than when I first got it while getting into a tackle with dylan while playing soccer in school earlier in the morning yesterday.

A life led towards the direction of comprehending and fufilling the purposes that God calls us to ultimately leads us to enjoy Godly pleasures. We always need to make the conscious effort to put our trust in God and to allow Him to take control in ouy lives. This would effectively mean that we begin to lead more fufilling lives as we are then able to be free of all the worldly burdens and not be distracted from the works that God calls us to do. Being free from worldly burdens through God's Peace is not the same as being indifferent to the situations and events that occur aound us and in the world today. We still have to be consicous of such events taking place around us, but the difference is our decision to respond in a different manner as compared to how the world responds.

It is through our testimonies in leading a fufilling life in Christ in the midst of all the uncertainties surrounding our society that we begin to show others that hope/securities based on financial security is hope placed on a weak foundation, and it is only through placing our hope /securities in Christ that we begin to fully enjoy the blessings of genuine Peace and Joy that comes from Jesus.

Personal Engagement with God -> Purpose in a life led by God -> Godly Pleasures

Work, and Radiohead!

Feeling really jaded from work, so took off today. The work still seems to pile up even now, and it just seems to be like an endless amount of work to complete. Complete one task, and just when you think you have the time to take a break, another comes knocking on your door. My goodness, it's times like this when I kinda hope for the year to be over quickly, simply because that would also mean that I'll be closer to ORD, but I guess it's another 3months before that happens?

This week is gonna be filled with so many soccer matches for me. I'll be playing with my JC friends on the Saturday morning, followed by another game with the El Shaddai guys at Ngee Ann Poly in the evening. I'll also be playing on Sunday evening with the church guys too, and I heard it's going to be full match duration for that one. Hmm, I wonder if my legs will be able to handle all that running, but I'm sure it will be alright. I mean, what can possibly go wrong there?

Radiohead is an awesome alternative rock band, and they just seem to get better and better as time passes by. I'm sure they are on the Ipods of almost everyone, because they are just that awesome. For those who amazingly have not heard of Radiohead, check out "Creep", "Fake Plastic Trees", "Karma Police" and "Just" for starters. I personally like "The Bends" album, but each of their albums has a very different style to the other. I guess that's what makes Radiohead very good :o)

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

I actually tried to stay up late in the night to catch the Champions league matches last night, but I kept dozing off here and there, and I could only summon enough strength to watch the first half of the match between Manchester United and Aalborg. But it's okay, since Man Utd won 3-0 against Aalborg.

Went shopping with my sis at Vivo City in the afternoon, and got 2 pairs of shorts :o) I also had the luxury of finally being able to eat at Carl's Jr, and my goodness the chilli cheese beef fries were REALLY good! I guess the reason why I really liked the food there is simply because I only ate there once prior to this, and I'm definitely returning for more of Carl's Jr so long as they keep up the standard of those Chilli Cheese Beef Fries.

Received a sms from Daniel saying that he had fractured his finger, and that he was going to be on 7 days MC to recover from it. It was actually quite shocking, since we thought that it was only a bruise and nothing more, but I guess with that kind of swollen finger it was bound to be something worse. I guess that means less time on the computer playing Call Of Duty for Daniel in the next few days.

Yup, I'm going to Cambodia again at the end of the year. I'm really excited about the trip, as this time the events/activities that we are going to organise or share with the people over there are going to be more elaborate. Uncle Peter was saying that there are plans for a 10 week preparation prior to the trip itself, and I can sense that this trip is going to be more fruitful and effective this time round. I'm really looking forward to meeting Romany and the rest of the team in Cambodia again :o)

"It's not just what you do that you need to get right. It's your heart, your attitude."