Dear Mandy,

It's pretty amazing how wonderful God is, and even now, I'm feeling rather in awe of His ways of working.. I guess that it's really true.. When you're patient and trust fully in God's plan for you and His timing, it all seems to unfold rather beautifully, that you just simply HAVE to stop whatever you're doing, and just give thanks to Him in prayer.

I got these verses yesterday from Cheryl and Pila, and also as I read the chapter today, got another affirmation.. let me show you the verses...

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the SPIRIT desires."
-Romans 5:8

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him,
who have been called according to His purpose."
-Romans 5:28

"And those He predestined, He also called;
those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified."
-Romans 5:30

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
-Romans 5:31

It almost seems like it's a letter from God himself to inspire and motivate people, and it has really motivated me. It's... just great... =) Victorians' Day and the OVA dinner both are flowing so smoothly now, and I really am thankful that the Lord saw it through. =)

Though I'm a bit worried about the projects, as well as the essays that are staring me in the face, but in some essence, I'm just learning how to life the troubles up to the Lord, and just trust in His divine plan for me. That's probably the best thing for me at the moment.. to work hard, trust in the Lord.

I will trust in the Lord and be patient; will learn step by step how to guard a heart... =)

Ok, so I guess that as the events loom nearer day by day, I'll just keep working at it. V-Day, OVA Dinner, and then, finally, STEP DOWN!!! =) Now that, I'm looking forward to it... =)

Ok, so I'm also quite sianz, that I kana recall manning... but what to do? I guess that it's just going to be back to the army. It's time to take out my uniform, polish my boots, and suit up... because... it's back to the camp for me. =)

Dear Mandy,

Well... CNY has passed, and I'm back in school... it's been... an eventful CNY... and I guess that really, it has been as festive as the season promised to be. :)

In any case though, I find myself once again at a loss as to the balancing of all my commitments. Haha.. it's really corny. Okay, apart from the weekly lectures and tutorials, I have my project work meetings that are coming in, and weekly DG, followed by "Step Up" programme, and the odd event that pops up here and there, like the OVA dinner that is this weekend. Soon, as the mid-term break comes, not only will I find myself studying, or doing projects, but similarly, I'll find myself planning Victorians' Day and the OVA dinner and dance. After that is over, here would come my EL 2111 mid term test, and consequently, the submission of SSA1203 essay 2, as well as the term assignment of an individual essay of EL 2111, followed by all the project presentations and submissions... shoot me.

How did this semester get to be so busy? One can only wonder why... because I myself have absolutely no idea how I got so busy! *Rawr* But the thing is... it's kinda weird, because as tired as I am, I somehow still manage to get by... I guess I have to thank Cheryl for her constant reminders of what I shouldn't be doing.. haha... it's no secret that one of my biggest flaws is that I don't draw my strength from the Lord, and rely too often on my own strength, and thus, get easily worn out, and extremely tired... I guess that in the year of Sabbath, as I look through the Psalms a day, and see the lamentations of the Psalmists, and the trust that they eventually hold in the unfailing love of the Lord, I am encouraged. This week, especially, the memory verse that we're to remember really speaks to me.

Psalm 37: 3 -4
"Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the Lord and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and He will give you the desires of your heart."

How apt! It's rather in tune with the service that Pastor Khong gave last Sunday, about the blessings of Safety, Satisfaction and Success in the Lord. A few of the more important things he said were to deny ourselves, and that if our hearts seek to delight the Lord in all that we do, then He will grant us the desires of our heart... because, as Joel said before last time, when we seek the Lord with all our heart, and our walks with Him are strong and we are attuned to His frequencies, then the desires of our hearts will be in accordance with that of His plan, and He will grant us our prayer requests.

Then the question of patience comes in... it's great if our hearts have the right attitude, and we are in tune with the Lord's plan, but are we then willing to trust in God, for His perfect timing? These are the two challenges that Joel always challenges us in cell... Are we willing to trust in the Lord's plan. and are we willing to trust in His time? Just yesterday, I felt a word from the Lord, that somewhere in this hectic schedule that I'm undergoing, I somewhat forgot that it is Him who makes all things possible... and that along the way, I kinda lost sight of putting the Lord as my priority... Immediately, I repented that night in prayer, and all the insecurities that I had been feeling all kinda disappeared... I felt... like the Lord was affirming some things that I'm going through now, and it was nice being in God's presence.

In all honesty though, I have been feeling inferior of late, especially with the proceedings towards certain stuff... but Pila, Cheryl, Zhiyuan and Jacob really helped me put things into perspective, and though I'm still slowly coming to terms with the special nature that the Lord has created me to be, I trust that in the Lord's words, I am fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. So I want to really just claim that special love of Jesus... and to be patient in His plan and time.

Special thanks to Cheryl, Sis, Ben, Wei Liang and Zhiyuan, for helping me get over the shock of the car accident that I had on Monday... it wasn't my fault, but well, it is my first accident after all, so I was in a bit of a shock. Praise God for His strong and firm hold on me, that despite my shock and lost stupor, He kept me calm enough to continue driving, to take down the particulars of the other driver, to analyse the situation and the damage... How awesome is our God? Very. :)

Well... they call the rain Heaven's tears... and I came across this really interesting line somewhere...

"I love walking in the rain, and feeling the raindrops on my face..
For it is then, that nobody can differentiate the tears from the rain."

As such, I guess that at this point in time, I'm still learning how to balance all my commitments, and at times, when I cry in the rain, and feel the Lord crying with me... I am comforted in His presence. Finding solace in solace... that's something new, isn't it? :)

Dear Mandy,

It's already the 2nd day of the Chinese New Year... and it's been quite a good one this year I guess...

How is that remotely possible? Well, I managed to meet up with me cousins for the first time in a long while... and though there were mixed opinions from each of us, the main bulk of us managed to meet up.. and it's quite interesting to see how everyone has grown, and how everyone has matured. All of us are going through different walks of life, and going through different challenges... but for one day... we're just cousins, and not people struggling in our individual obstacles. Of course, as one of the older ones, watching over them is inevitably one of my roles, that I can't deny? BUt I was really just glad that I didn't have to explicitly take over the role of guardian when it was just me with them. :)

These days... it's been rather amazing. I guess that few people would know what I'm referring to... :) It's been sweet, but as I trust the Lord in taking the next step forward, I just pray that I'll be able to hear Him speak to me. And I'd so want to live out that plan that He has in store for me.

Even as I trust in Him, and walk forward in faith, I just believe that He will make a way for me. :)

I love you, Lord. :)