I had a very very nice Christmas. Before that, let's start with some Christmas thoughts i had this year. I never really thought of what kind of person Joseph and Mary would be like when Mary was having the baby Lord Jesus in her womb.. i guess it just went like a normal story to me other than His birth. i never imagined that it takes so much faith for Mary to trust the Lord that He would reveal things to Joseph.. as a young lady at that time.. to have a baby before she's married.. how she must have felt at that time.. considering that her reputation wud be ruined if ppl knw shes pregnant before she gets married.

And Joseph.. how some people would have ignorantly thought that he was half-hearted.. the fact that he didnt expose mary to public disgrace (which he could have done, bcos as a normal man he shud be angry that his wife-to-be is pregnant and he wud have thought that she has committed adultery.) by putting her away silently, he is putting all d blame on himself.. that he slept with her before they cud wait for their wedding. which he obviously did not. to such extent was his love for Mary.

and.. uncle GB came up wit this thought during christmas service. that people's response to the Lord is like the inn-keeper. the inn is full, there's no room for the Lord Jesus. some people are very caught up with their own busyness that they dont make room for the Lord. some people r caught up wit money, studies, career, relationships, etc..

theres just so many new things 2 learn from d Bible each day. His Word's amazing. Lord, help me to appreciate Your Word more and more.

i hope im able to sum up what has happened these 2 days. hehe. i went to watch the Chronicles of Narnia on Monday with Ju Ee and Amanda. =) so excited. wah, 2 and a half hours long.. but never got bored. as compared to harry potter n the goblet of fire.. i think its 10 times better.. wuahaha. then amanda wanted to do christmas shopping.. i told her i was gonna give her 1 and a half hours only, knowing that she could take years to finish shopping. -.-" in d end, she took 2 and a half hours..  nevermind, im a veri good fren.. hehe. i managed to get the Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel (author of Case for Christ and Case for Faith) for just RM 19.95! wah. so cool man. =) i have always wanted to buy that book. i shall save money now.. to buy my 1st most-wanted book in my list.. A newberry's bible which would cost me around RM144. d next in d list would obviously b.. chronicles of narnia! (duh, of cos lah influenced by d movie, hehe)

im currently in waiyee's house in pj. we came in d afternoon to finish our Electronic Publishing assignment. get to design our own mag and newspaper. cool eh. we had our dinner just now - nan cheese! - at 10pm. hehe. now its 12.20am. 20 mins ago i peeped outside d living hall.. three of them are sleeping on the sofa. -.-" happy tHree friends. hehe. i have got a picture of them! =) *smiles wickedly* three of my closest friends in college:

in case all of are wondering who is this geeta amanda n waiyee i always mention in my blog.. here are they! =) from the left it's geeta, waiyee and amanda. *hugs*

Judges 11

    ¹ Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. ²³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him. Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman."

    ⁴ Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, ⁵ the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

    ⁷ Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"

    ⁸ The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."

    ⁹ Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me—will I really be your head?"

    ¹⁰ The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

    ¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?"

    ¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."

    ¹⁴ Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, ¹⁵ saying:
       "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. ^16[a] and on to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea

    ¹⁸ "Next they traveled through the desert, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.

    ¹⁹ "Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' ²⁰ Sihon, however, did not trust Israel ^[b] to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.

    ²¹ "Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, ²² capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

    ²³ "Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? ²⁴ Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess. ²⁵ Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? ²⁶ For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? ²⁷ I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, ^[c] decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

    ²⁸ The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.

    ²⁹ Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. ³⁰ And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

    ³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. ³³ He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

    ³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

    ³⁶ "My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. ³⁷ But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."

just when i was reading this hymn's lyrics.. and pondering upon it this morning, Uncle Chee Ching stood up and offered this hymn. indeed, it is a thing most wonderful to me.. that the Lord came and died for me! =)

It is a thing most wonderful,
Almost too wonderful to be,
That God's own Son should come from Heav'n,
And die to save a child like me.

And yet I know that it is true;
He chose a poor and humble lot,
And wept, and toiled, and mourned, and died,
For love of those who loved Him not.

I cannot tell how He could love
A child so weak and full of sin;
His love must be most wonderful,
If He could die my love to win.

It is most wonderful to know
His love for me so free and sure;
But 'tis more wonderful to see
My love for Him so faint and poor.

And yet I want to love Thee, Lord;
Oh, light the flame within my heart,
And I will love Thee more and more,
Until I see Thee as Thou art.

yesterday i had my bm presentation.. im so thankful that i wasnt nervous.. praise d Lord! =) everything went on fine. and after bm at 3pm.. i went home and ... what more? sleeeeep! *shows satisfied face*  by the way, i just realized that my finals are coming in 6 weeks.. how interesting eh? it seemed like as though i just started my 2nd semester.. now ending liao?  *thinks*

anyway, Pearlly Chua's gonna come to act Emily of Emerald Hill for us.. wuahaha. im so excited.. =) its gonna be on the 10th of dec, next sat, 10am - 12pm.. anyone interested? tickets can be obtained from TARC SSH office.. RM12. =p sounds like doing promotion. ah.. what more to say?

i've just realized the reality of trials in my life.. it comes all the time. im not complaining abt them.. just wonder in awe how these things can either break me or bend me towards Him. why the thought? some of u may already know that i have i observe in Uncle Chee Ching's class. i have a problem that is, its quite hard to gain respect from the teens. wanting to get close to them as a friend and at the same time drawing the line bcos they r still my students.. its really hard. i think one of d reasons is bcos my age gap with them is not that big. the oldest there, a form 3 student is just 2 years younger than me. so not easy.. thats why i was thinking lah, how its not easy to walk this walk (huh?) but i was inspired by what jaya kor said that day when he was speaking about 2 Peter..

many of us started well in our christian walk but do we end well? let us make sure that we are able to end well too. not like solomon, etc

its not easy to walk but the Lord is by my side! =) its so amazing to note that how with my own strength im not able to endure all the trials i faced as a christian for almost 3 years. its even more amazing that He HELPED me to endure all these.. without Him.. where would i be now?

i think that's all for now.. =) got class at 2 later.. im in my college's computer lab actually. i miss my mummy!  *awwww*