Did You Watch...

The match between Manchester United and Chelsea last night? I'm not talking about my sis and her roommate but the actual clubs. Well, Man U won the game 3-1, but the game was interesting not because 4 goals were scored, but the amount that weren't instead.

One fell when wanting to score.

One slipped while taking a penalty kick.

One keeper running to the opponent's goal only to realise he was at the wrong side.

But the greatest of the miss belonged to Fernando Torres. He rounded the keeper very well and was actually one-on-one with the goal! At first sight, I thought he was going to score but he missed. I was more flabbergasted, blabbergasted, dumbfounded, smartunfounded than being happy he didn't score. Click here for the miss.

Anyway, I just pity him for the miss. He was playing well up until that point. As a striker, your job is to score. Rounding off the keeper is a bonus but the core you must fulfill. And sadly, he missed the target.

It's just like a student preparing for the exam only to realise the exam was 2 months ago and he missed it.

It's just like an accountant missing an obvious number and the accounts come up with a huge mistake.

It's just like a lawyer getting her files ready for the big trial and upon walking in the court with brimming confidence, realises she's in the wrong court and missed the right one.

How sad indeed.

Ah well, I checked the dates and phew, STPM ain't 2 months ago!

Only He Knows

Just read a blog of a friend of mine. Always seemed so cheerful, but that blog had none of it. I guess people often put up a brave front but inside, they're just hurt and shattered. If not for that blog, how am I to know?

I suppose only God knows, and hence the only One who can help. It is comforting to know God does help through us friends.

A Motivator Came...

To school to well, motivate the students. It was a very good presentation about inspiring ourselves to keep moving forward and never giving up. What felt a bit weird though was the fact that God was never mentioned, even when Calvin, the motivator, said who was the one we listen to the most. But well, I guess that's true among many of us, even Christians are guilty of it.

But what made the presentation contradict itself was when he showed a clip of Nick Vujicic.


Nick here has Tetra-amelia syndrome, a disability which results in losing your limbs. What Calvin wanted to bring out was that Nick of all people, could be the first to give up but chose instead to fight on, to listen to his voice, and to pursue greatness. He stood on his own two feet so to say, and stood tall. So we with limbs, should follow suit.

But is that how it really went?

Calvin probably didn't know the part where Nick contemplated suicide because of his condition. He felt hopeless and couldn't find meaning in his life. But what really changed him wasn't the voice inside him, but the voice of God.

It was in his hopelessness that he found God.

In his struggles.

In his inability.

In all these he found comfort and strength in God. God became and is his limbs till this day.

Many people in the world today are always telling us to push through things by ourselves.

To conquer the world.

To win.

But what about the helpless? Does it become a 'the strong survive, the weak die' situation?

It took Nick's helplessness to realize he needed God in his life.

To realize strength comes not from himself, but from God.

To realize life is hopeless without Him.

If it takes a sense of hopelessness and helplessness for people to come to God, then I hope they do, and then find hope and help altogether.

Who did Nick listen to?

He listened to God the most.

His video can be found here.

I Was Like...

'Woah, you're that fat already?'

No, I'm not saying any girl is fat or anything, but Ronaldo!

And no, not Cristiano Ronaldo.

If he's fat, we're all doomed.

I'm talking about the Brazilian Ronaldo. Yeah, he was awesome and stuff. Won 2 World Cups and holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup with 15 goals! He was fit at that time and had speed and strength!

Glory days!

Yeah, but look at him now. T.T

I DON'T WANNA BE LIKE THAT!

The Constant Variable

Life changes a lot as you grow older. New responsibilities come in and are often heavier than the previous ones, new worries, new headaches, and then pimples and wrinkles.

When I was a toddler, all I worried about was getting a new toy and milk. Ken seems to be at this stage still, hmmm.

When I was 7, I worried about getting up early on Saturdays to watch Dragon Ball Z at 8 a.m. Still a mystery why TV2 had to put it so early.

When I was 13, I didn't have my first love. Instead, I worried about Manchester United winning the Premier League and God.

When I was 17, I worried about how useful I am in God's work. Oh ya, there was SPM too... Nah, not as much.

When I was 19, WRONG! I am 19! I worry about my future, Manchester United winning the Champions' League (Which they loss and caused a waterfall of tears), and pleasing God in every way.

Petty stuff like watching a cartoon show or little toys matter little now. It's just like how we put away clothes that don't fit us anymore and wear clothes that fit.

Considering the fact that Manchester United is a mature thing, it's safe to say I matured when I was 13. Whee!

Anyway, my point is that things just get bigger and bigger from here on out. Looking at my elder sisters, the things they go through can get quite stressful as compared to my 'big worries'(MU is an exclusion). But the one thing I'm glad is The Constant Variable, God.

Sure, my perception of how much He loves me might change sometimes, but the truth remains that God is constant all the time. In a world of uncertainty, it's nice to have a certainty which is true to hold on too. And for that, I'm thankful. I'll manage through uncertainties.

"Shaun, What hair to cut?"

When my sister asked me this, I thought,

"Hmm, Commando hairstyle maybe? Or what about bald, or go wild with mohawk?"

And then I remembered, it's my sister.

And I sighed.

I don't know any female hairstyle la.

T.T

"You Know About My Parents Right?"

I hesitated to answer. I kind of gathered that somewhere something was wrong because my friend always spoke about her mom only.

Err... Not really. I'm kinda shy in asking you about this actually.

Oh, my parents were living separately for quite some time. Then they divorced.

How long did they live separately again?

11 years. (Which makes her 8 at that time)

And when did your parents divorce again?

Last year.

That for me, was hard to swallow. And I'm not even the one having to bear it. The divorce happened as recent as last year, and yet she showed no signs of it.

I'm sorry about what happened.

It's alright, I've learned to live through it.

Divorce isn't a thing that should happen. Yeah, you may have done well living through the pain, but the whole point is that nobody should be put through that pain in the first place.

Love of a father.

Care of a father.

Support.

These are things everyone is entitled to experience. And yet, my friend lacks it.

Living through it is brave, but if only there weren't such a thing as divorce, then she wouldn't have to live through it but to enjoy it.

Is it really that hard to stay together until "death do us part"?

My teacher said,

"Only when your wife breathes her last in your arms, can you truly say, 'This is my wife'."

Shouldn't we then, live like today would be our loved one's last and treasure them dearly instead of signing some documents?

I Got...

Called by the teacher to stand beside him today. As I saw my classmates going back to class after quad, I wondered on what basis I was held for. I was about to say Habeas Corpus regardless whether it was relevant or not when he said:

Boy, your hair too long already.

And I was like,

Eh? Sir you call this long ar?

And he went,

Oh, not the hair, just the sideburns actually. Go and cut yourself ya.

And I thought to myself,

But dude, I like just cut my hair last February wei!

I feel insulted.

Nae.

My growth hormones feel insulted.

The teacher is blaming them for producing hair at a very high rate.

Oh, how my hormones long for justice!

I Ran...

5.8km in the cross-country run on Saturday. It was my second competitive outing, and again, it was very tiring.

At one point, I felt like giving up and just walked instead.

But I determined to carry on.

At another point, I had cramps in my stomach and shoulder.

But I determined to carry on too.

When I reached the stadium where 400 metres had yet to be completed, I truly felt like giving up again because of the distance.

But for the third time, I determined to carry on.

In the end, I made it. I kinda pushed myself to the limit and felt like vomiting, but the satisfaction of knowing I ran the entire track was worth it.

I post this today not because I want to show how determined I was in completing the race, but rather the thought that came as I was running.

Jesus was the thought.

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating Him. They blindfolded Him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to Him.

Luke 22: 63-65

He could have given up on His Mission and give in to the people who hit Him.

But He determined to carry on.

Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.

Luke 23:11

Again, He could have given up His Mission. But He determined to carry on in spite of what the king and soldiers did.

They (the soldiers) stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

Matthew 27:28-30

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.

Luke 23:33

Even unto death, He determined to carry on.

What was His Mission?

To save you and me.

Being 100% human, the physical and mental pain must have burdened Jesus greatly, to the point of giving up. But because He had us on His mind, He determined to carry on until the end.

For Him, saving us was worth all the pain and mocking.

And for that, I'm thankful.

Jesus showed us God's love
In the garden when He prayed for us
Jesus showed us God's love
When He carried that awful cross
Tell me could you say, what Jesus said
If they did those mean things to you,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."

Jesus showed us God's love
When He let them nail Him to the cross
Jesus showed us God's love
When He died for us
Tell me could you say, what Jesus said
If they did those mean things to you,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."

By The Donut Man

People Ask...

What's Prayer Meeting for if you can just sit at home with your family members and pray?

One, do we actually do that?

Second, today's time of prayer was already proof itself of the importance of coming together, praying and encouraging one another.

I Just Can't...

Help but post about this. Some of you may know my friend, Seon Fei. He attended MGC once. He's a dude from Yong Peng. Ya, a place famous for its fish balls. My teacher says it's so good it can bounce around and be used as a Ping-pong ball.

Anyway, he is a very quiet dude, but can be very funny in his own special way. My class was planning to give a birthday surprise for my two classmates this Tuesday. Of course, for it to be a success, the two victims were not supposed to know anything about it. That should already be a known fact. But this Yong Peng dude here did something so funny you can't get angry with him but just say, "Well, that's Seon Fei to you!"

He went and tell one of them that she was gonna get a surprise party.

She doesn't believe him because she thinks it's just plain dumbness to break it out to her that she's gonna get a surprise party. And especially when it hasn't happened.

Fact is, he's that dumb. In a good way. :D

Anyway, she asks why does he tell her if it's true?

He says...

"Sooner or later you also will find out about it mah."

Classic, don't you think?

He's the dude on the top right! Photo from his Facebook.

Fernando Torres...

Has moved to

CHELSEA!!

Instead of being one of the many livers in a pool, he has now become a gel in the sea! I was a bit surprised by the last-minute transfer news, but oh well, I guess they do grow money on trees. This transfer has received criticism from the fans because they feel he has turned his back on them. I don't really care, since I'm a Man U dude, although it's understandable why Torres would want to leave and the fans are angry.

My sis says he's not handsome. I think she hasn't seen Wayne Rooney yet. Hmm.

Nevertheless, Torres could have made some fans forgive him by saying some nice things in the press. But noooo, he didn't! He said,

"This is the target for every footballer - to try to play for one of the top clubs in the world and I can do it now. I have to be very, very happy as I am..."

That big dong! He should have said,

"This is the target for every footballer - to try to play for one of the other top clubs in the world besides Liverpool and I can do it now. I have to be very, very happy as I am.

We Had...

A Formative Test today. It's just a simple test to test us on what we've learned for the past month. It was all good...

Except PA.

I kinda screwed it up. Instead of drawing the right graph, I panicked and drew the wrong one. What's ironic is I can say assuredly that I have done the most exercises on PA graphs, and yet, I was the only one who screwed up. And technically, it's my second screw up on the same part. Oh the horror!

Lesson learned - Homework is like drugs. You take too much of them, you get an overdose, and you die. Likewise, too much homework and exercises are bad.

From today onwards, I shall minimize my homework and do only the minimum! Whee!

I'm Doing A...

Research on a famous organization. It's just those folios we do when we're in Form 1, just that this is supposed to be more high class or some sort.

I'm doing a colloquium (Higher class name for folio) for my Pengajian Am, which is the General Paper where you learn about the great Generals of old. Nah, it's about the world, what's currently going on and stuff. Anyway, I was given the responsibility of finding the success this organization brings socially or politically. And surprisingly, the failures far outweigh the success stories, to the extent I'd have to hide the truths for the sake of meeting my goal.

And then, I remembered the Bible. The authors did not need to hide the failures of great people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, or even the great King David (No, not The Biggest Loser David). By the guiding of the Spirit of God, they were moved to reveal everything, even though their success stories would be stained by even the tiniest failure and cause readers to say 'Eh?'. To put in simpler terms, quoting Geoffrey Chaucer of A Knight's Tale who said this to a couple of men,

"I will eviserate you in fiction. Every pimple, every character flaw. I was naked for a day; you will be naked for eternity."

The Bible doesn't lie, tell half-truths, or hide truths. For whatever good things that were mentioned were really done, and this went along with the bad. And when the Bible doesn't lie or hide anything, it's comforting to know the truth that God loves you and I so much, that He was unwilling to let us go our way, but to build a bridge for us by His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Which pops the question,

Are you willing to use this Bridge?

I know I swayed away from
what I was supposed to do,
but I can't help but to
technologically pen this down.

I Was Reading...

Articles about homosexuality. No, I'm not confused, but I was merely helping my friend find some verses that speak about it. And no, my friend is not too. I came across an article where the writer claims that the Bible is actually silent about this issue and that "Most people have not carefully and prayerfully researched the biblical texts often used to condemn God's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children."

He started out quite brightly by giving examples of how much blood was shed due to this misunderstanding of homosexuality. And yeah, the stuff some people did are bad, and God did not mean for them to do what they did. But as I read on, the truth got more and more bent, even bender than Neo could bend the spoon.


Let's just say I'm surprised at how he seems to reconcile the Bible and homosexuality, distorting the straight line of the Word so that it intersects with homosexuality, just like the Supply and Demand graph.


I would not want to comment too much here, lest this blog be super famous for issue-issue hot but partly also because there are just too much to comment. But just to clear things up, as much as I disagree about homosexuality, it's the sin I condemn, not the sinner.

Hmm, if you want to read the article, feel free to message me in private and decide for yourself.

Ahahaha

Look at my chatbox. She just comes and says peace.

Find that quite amusing actually.

It's like you're just walking like any ordinary day, and out of un-ordinari-ness, someone passes by and says, 'I'm a walker, peace.'

I think besides shouting 'stalker' and whacking that person, the other alternative is to just laugh about it. So,

hahahahaha!

Her link is about getting muscular.
Eh, what you trying to imply about me ar?