You Are My Hero

I've seen you stand alone and face the fight
When others laid their weapons down
And headed for home
I've seen you face the fire and come out shining like gold,
And I want you to know...
I've seen you lay visions down for someone else
And give your life as a sacrifice, no fanfare around!
I've watched you weather storms that would have left others
drowned,
And this is what I've found:

You are my hero, my knight in shining armor
A warrior of God's grace, standing alone faithfully!
You are my hero, a light that pierces darkness
With love that's not afraid to fight for someone like me,
Encouraging me to stand firm and free!
You are my hero!

I've seen you look down the road and see beyond
The miles and head for truth in faith while bearing a load
I've heard your anguished cries for grace and watched joy
unfold,
And I want you to know:

You are my hero, my knight in shining armor
A warrior of God's grace, standing alone faithfully!
You are my hero, a light that pierces darkness
With love that's not afraid to fight for someone like me,
Encouraging me to stand firm and free!
You are my hero!

I've seen you face death with a deep burning faith
That stirs up the passion in me!
Your heart, like a fire, abounding in grace,
A beacon helping others to see; help set me free

Finishing 2008 and Entering 2009

Back from Bangkok, and I seriously think that I need a holiday for this holiday due to the shopping marathons that I have participated. Nonetheless, it was a great holiday spent with my girlfriend and buddies.

Anyway, coming back to my main focus of this entry, it's 2009! This is surely going to be a year of new things and new expectations. Even as we were praying and worshiping God together back in our hotel room yesterday night, I was reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God throughout these six years. God then begun to show me about these six years, the things that were added into my life. Indeed they were resounding victories, however something really struck me. I begin to realize that although victories were sweet, but sometimes they will have the effect of blurring our lives, causing us to lose focus or distract us from our first devotion to Jesus.

Year 2009 is not just going to be a year that I am away to study, but it will be a year of coming back to where I first started this walk, it will be a year of going on a holiday with God, quieting my life from distracting noises and a year to learn to see things in the perspective of God.


Deut 8:10-18
"10 When you have eaten your fill, bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 "But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you don't forget the Lord your God and begin to disobey him. 12-13 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large, and your silver and gold have multiplied, 14 that is the time to watch out that you don't become proud and forget the Lord your God who brought you out of your slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Beware that you don't forget the God who led you through the great and terrible wilderness with the dangerous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness (it was a kind of bread unknown before) so that you would become humble and so that your trust in him would grow, and he could do you good. 17 He did it so that you would never feel that it was your own power and might that made you wealthy. 18 Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich, and he does it to fulfill his promise to your ancestors."

Updates

Well, it seems like I haven't been doing any updates for the past one month. AY0809 Semester 1 is over and the holidays came and now holidays are going to be over this coming Wednesday. Fast! Time slips away without you noticing.

AY0809 Semester 1 was rather exciting with 5 modules plus the time consuming, strength draining Final Year Project 1. I can conclude that though tiring, semester 1 has been rewarding. During this semester, I have gotten closer to some classmates and of course good results. Just on Monday, the results were released and God has done it again, 6As inclusive of my FYP. Even as I compared all my semester results, I saw a trend and the conclusion is, in God it's always from glory to glory.

Two more days and here we go again. There are many things in my mind now, and soon it will be posted here. Til then!

Cheers,
Desmond

Through It All

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Even as I began to ask God to manifest His thoughts towards me, He started leading my imagination to a wonderful image.

In the vision, was a beautiful picture of a dad sending his boy to school. Even as the child entered into the classroom, the dad stood by the windows of the class watching his dear boy by the side, ensuring that he would be fine. To the boy, after parting with his dad at the door of the class, the presence of his dad watching by him could be felt strongly, though not seen.

With this impression, I was led to another thought. This time, I saw myself in several occasions. One was when I was in primary school, where I was so naughty, constantly being punished for giving problems to my teachers and bullying my classmates. Another one was in secondary school, so lazy, not studying all the time. One funny one was me doing all sorts of crazy things for this girl whom I thought I will marry. A depressing one was where I lost all directions in life, wandering all over the place. A joyful one showed the time when I first came to know God, critical in attitude, but touched by His love.

Though all of the scenarios look so diverse, with happy and unhappy ones but the common thing was, my Father was there looking through the window ensuring that I was fine through it all. This time round, I am assured that He will be there too.

Counting Down - 246 Days

Another 246 days or to be specific, 16th February 2009 will be the day in which I will be embarking on another phase of my education journey. This time round, the difference would not just be in the level of knowledge I am going to receive but mainly the difference in location; Melbourne: 6076 km away from home, from church and from friends.

Having personally been to Australia, I guess that I did not really enjoy both trips there. Probably the main reason, is going there with the Singapore Armed Forces and the destination was some 'ulu' place called Rockhampton. In addition, the lifestyle there did not really excite me. Being a typical Singaporean and City Harvest member, who lives a fast paced life running from place to place and having late nights, the thought of seeing empty streets at around 5pm daily, with shopping centres closing at 4pm except on Thursday 8pm and doing gardening on Sunday certainly is beginning to strike fear within me.

The thought of being away from church, the zone and my cell group is also a thumbs down. I guess that apart from home, they are the people that are constantly on my mind. To calculate, being away for 10 months from February to December, I would probably miss so many big days and major events; Easter, Emerge 2009, etc. :S

However, I guess on the brighter note the chance to do a fast tracked degree from one of the top universities in Australia does not always come around, especially when it is going to help me win back time which I have lost previously. As I look at coming back home during December 2009 and commencing with my career, I am greatly excited! I certainly hope that I can perform as well or even better during my stint in Monash as compared to Republic Polytechnic.

Visual To-Do List

As the saying goes, "A picture speaks a thousand words" and having camera phones so easily available, it can be a great idea to have a To-Do list that has its contents represented by photos instead of words. Furthermore, snapping a photo of a task that needs attention takes much less time than penning it down and it makes life much more interesting too, since people are visually oriented.

One way to implement a Visual To-Do List:

1. Create a To-Do folder within your phone.
2. Begin snapping tasks that need to be done (Packing your desk, an uncompleted project, toothpaste that is running out, etc).
3. Upon every snap, transfer it to the To-Do folder.
4. Have a look at the To-Do folder from time to time to ensure that tasks are completed.
5. Upon completion of every task, delete the photo.

Simple as that. This idea is not unique as there are people using it already. Do go try it and let me know if it works for you.

Being 'Right' and 'Wrong'

Peter came from a family where there was much conflicts and quarreling. Because of it, he was very troubled and tried various ways to try to solve this problem within his family. However, there was no result.

On the other hand, Peter have a friend, named Ryan. Ryan's family hardly quarrel and were always very understanding towards each other. Thus Peter decided to seek the advice of Ryan and he asked, " Ryan, tell me what is the secret behind your family? As compared to many others, you guys never seem to have much conflicts and would always seek to put yourselves in each other shoes. How did you all do it?" Ryan answered, "It is very simple. It is because your family possessed all the right attitudes while mine having all the wrong ones."

Upon hearing the reply, Peter got upset as he thought Ryan was trying to be sarcastic. Ryan quickly explained himself, "Don't get me wrong, I was not trying to be sarcastic. Let me give you an example. If there was a glass of water placed on the table by my wife and I accidentally spill it, I would quickly go to my wife and tell her that it was my fault and I am the person in the wrong. Upon hearing my apologies, my wife would also apologize immediately stating that she is in the wrong for placing the glass of water at a place where it was not easily seen thus causing the spillage. We have all the 'wrong' attitudes because we chose to admit our mistakes. However in your family, the problem lies in that everyone always thinks that they are 'right'. None of you would want to give in and apologize when something goes wrong. That is why there are always so many conflicts."

Bobby Lee Waihong would always say in Hokkien, "Saying sorry would not cause you to lose a part of your flesh...". True!

Communication

Communication is essential in every relationship. When one refuses to communicate, it is indirectly bringing death to that relationship.

An interesting story about relationships that lacked communication:

A man was elected to be a Minster of Parliament and was to give a speech before his constituency. Thus he spent a great deal of time in preparation for his speech. The faithful day came for the minister to deliver his speech and his entire family was there to support him.

That very night before the minister's wife fell asleep, she began to think in her mind,"Well, today my husband gave a great speech and the entire audience was greatly motivated. However something seems to be wrong... What could it be? Ahhh! I know, he was pulling up his trousers all the time! His trousers must be too long for him!". She turned and look at the minister and realized that he was deeply asleep. Thus she decided that she will go and alter the trousers and not wake him up. The minister's wife took the trousers and began to cut off a portion of it. After which, she placed the trousers back to where she took it and went to bed.

At about 2am in the morning, the minister's daughter woke up. She started thinking, "Dad gave a wonderful speech today, but I just feel that something seems wrong. What could it be? Ahhhh! I know, I know! His trousers was too long for him! I remembered seeing him constantly pulling it up. I better do something about it." The daughter looked into her parents' room and realized that both her father and mother were asleep. She decided not to wake them up, she took the trousers and went ahead to alter it. With it, she cut off a portion and placed the trousers back. After which she went to bed.

At 4am, the minister woke up from his sleep. As he had to deliver another speech at 8am, the minister began to evaluate how he had performed the day before. He thought to himself, "Yesterday, I gave a good speech. The audience were excited and greatly motivated. But, something seems to be wrong. What could it be? Yes! I was pulling up my trousers constantly. It was too long for me! I better do something with it!". He looked at his wife and daughter and realized that they were fast asleep, thus the minister decided not to disrupt their rest. He took the trousers and cut off a portion of it and place it back to where it was originally placed.

At 6.30am, the entire family woke up and the minister began to dress up to go for his speech. By now, he realized that his trousers has become a pair of bermudas! However as time was crucial, there was no time for him to get a new pair, he went ahead with it. At 8am, the minister started delivering his speech and told the audience, "You must be thinking that I look funny, wearing a pair of ultra short trousers to give a speech.". He began to tell them what had happened throughout the night and he commented, "My family loves each other alot, however because we failed to communicate, this happened.".


Although this story is not a true one, but it does indeed reflect many of our relationships. We often love and care for the people around us, but we fail to communicate or express it out. Eventually, it led to many funny happenings and even misunderstandings. All these can be avoided, if only communication take place.

Part of loving is to communicate and to express it out. Start communicating today! :)

The Lee Family

My family portrait taken during Chinese New Year 2008

Welcome to Holland

A poem by Emily Kingsley, a parent of a special needs child.

"I am often asked to describe the experience
Of raising a child with a disability,
To help people, who have not shared that unique experience,
Understand it
And imagine how it would feel.
It's like this
When you're going to have a baby,
It's like planning a fabulous trip to Italy;
You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans-
The Coliseum, Michelangelo's David, the gondolas in Venice-
You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian.
It's all very exciting.
After all the months of eager anticipation,
The day finally arrives.
You pack your bags and off you go
Several hours later, the plane lands,
The stewardess comes in and says
'Welcome to Holland'.
'HOLLAND!?' you say. 'What do you mean, Holland?
I signed up for Italy.
I'm supposed to be in Italy.
All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy'.
But there has been a change in the flight plan.
The important thing is
That they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place
Full of pestilence, famine and disease.
It's just a different place.
So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks.
And you must learn a whole new language.
And you will meet a whole new group of people
You would never have otherwise met.
It's just a different place.
It's slower paced than Italy;
Less flashy than Italy.
But after you've been there for a while
And catch your breath,
You look around and you begin to notice
That Holland has windmills;
Holland has tulips;
Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy,
And they're all bragging about the wonderful time they had.
And for the rest of your life you will say
'Yes, that's where I was supposed to go;
That's what I had planned'.
The pain of that will never, ever go away,
Because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact
That you didn't get to Italy,
You may never be free to enjoy
The very special, the very lovely things about Holland."

6 Years & Counting

6 years ago on the 28th of April, I stepped into City Harvest Church for the first time. From then on, I never look back. What an amazing 6 years of adventure with God, having known great people and my life changed totally. Awesome!

Indeed God's plans are always higher than our own. A plan to 'rescue' a close friend eventually led to salvation and a life changing experience. These 6 years, never a moment have I ceased to be in awe of God's call towards me into His family. Prior to knowing God, I was a person with no direction in life. Having failed in school, I didn't know of what I can expect in life. Temporal glory was all that filled my mind, thus I became a bartender and led a messed up life - living only for the moment.


Eventually after a few events, I came to church and little did I know that my life was about to change at that instance. There I met a tremendously powerful woman who became my cell group leader and her name is Marlin.



Under her leadership, I grew to know God and was really discipled in many areas of my attitude and character.


Without Marlin's persistence and love, I would not be doing what I am doing now. Thus, I am really appreciative of this mentor God has placed in my life.

However, things did not just end here. God continued to bring in even more wonderful people into my life. During October 2005, I was transferred to E369 to come under my current leader and zone supervisor, Ming Jin. I must say that this is one of the greatest thing that happened to my life. Under him, I learnt many things and grew tremendously as a person in terms of confidence and also my relationship with God. One of the most significant thing that really touched my heart was on the day before I reembarked on my studies, Ming Jin dropped me a call personally and encouraged me to study hard and do well. It really meant alot to me and till now I still keep it in my heart as a motivation to do well.



In MJ Zone, I got to know another powerful woman who also made a huge difference in my life. Her words are always full of love and encouragement. She is none other than Darryl, Ming Jin's wife. Just by spending a lunch break or even a short conversation with her is enough to inspire me to believe that I have the ability to attempt any impossible task and take on the world with boldness. Having been in her cell group for a mere 6 months brought about so much impact into my life and I must say it was such an enjoyable time learning under her.



Apart from this powerful couple, God gave me great friends that I know I can rely on in this wonderful family. Every week, I would look forward to meeting them and spending time serving God together.

The goodness of my heavenly Father did not end here too, I was also given the privilege of leading a wonderful bunch of God-loving people, N363.



Beyond just relationship and character-wise, I am also blessed beyond description in my school results and I must say God turns things around. Initially I thought that I am a failure in studies and would never even get a basic diploma , but because of His grace I am now even given an opportunity to do a fast tracked degree next year.

In conclusion, it would take me an infinite amount of space to jot down how thankful I am to God for the second chance to life and I know I can never be grateful enough for the wondrous things that He has done for me and to the people that came into my life. 6 years have passed, and I know I can look forward to an even glorious 6 years ahead.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day and I would like to take the opportunity to salute all the mothers all around the world.

My mother is a very strong and special woman who has made an amazing impact in my life. Her love and grace for me is so great that it overlooks all my weaknesses and failures. In order to see me succeed in life, she underwent much hardship and I would really want to appreciate her for that. Anything God does through me in this lifetime, I see it as her reward; for all the seeds she sowed with her life and heart.

Recently I heard something very interesting and I made a little amendment to it. It is said that there are 3 critical issues in our life that we cannot afford to procrastinate in doing them, as follows:-

1. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting Him as your Saviour.
2. Being filial and honor your parents.
3. Be successful.

Point 1 is exceptionally crucial but I would want to emphasize on the other 2 points on this Mother's Day. It is very important that we as children not forget the hardwork and love that our parents sowed into our lives and it is only justifiable that we be filial and honor them at every possible instances. Time just passes us by unknowingly. A true fact is, there is just a limited amount of times that we can express our love towards our parents while they are still alive. By procrastinating, time is ticking away fast. Therefore, let's seize the moment!

Linking the last point to the 2nd, my opinion is that being filial also means that everyone of us have the responsibility to be successful while our parents are still alive. It is because, for everything that they have done and gave to us, it is to see us be happy and successful in the things that we do. Furthermore when one succeeds in life, then he will have greater capabilities in taking care of his parents. Thus, working and studying hard is not just about ourselves but really part of repaying the effort our parents have sown in us.

To end, something interesting that I found:

THE IMAGES OF MOTHER

At 4 years old we say: "My Mummy can do anything!"
At 8 years old: "My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!"
At 12 years old: "My Mother doesn't really know quite everything."
At 14 years old: "Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either."
At 16 years old: "Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned."
At 18 years old: "That old woman? She's way out of date!"
At 25 years old: "Well, she might know a little bit about it."
At 35 years old: "Before we decide, let's get Mum's opinion."
At 45 years old: "Wonder what Mum would have thought about it?"
At 65 years old: "I wish I could talk it over with Mum."

[Author Unknown]

11 Rules to Life

An excerpt from the book "Dumbing Down Our Kids" by educator Charles Sykes.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The Race

"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!"

They shouted at me and plead.
"There's just too much against you now. This time you can't succeed!"

And as I start to hang my head in front of failure's face.
My downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.

And hope refills my weakened will as I recall that scene:
For just the thought of that short race rejuvenates my being.

A children's race-young boys, young men-how I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear; It wasn't hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope each thought to win that race.
Or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.

And fathers watched from off the side each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they went! Young hearts and hopes afire.
To win and be the hero there was each young boy's desire.

And one boy in particular whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running near the lead and thought: "My dad will be so proud!"

But as they sped down the field across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win lost his step and slipped.

Trying hard to catch himself his hands flew out to brace,
And mid the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.

So down he fell and with him hope --He couldn't win it now--
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished to disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said: "Get up and win the race."

He quickly rose, no damage done, --Behind a bit, that's all--
And ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.

So anxious to restore himself --To catch up and to win--
His mind went faster than his legs: He slipped and fell again!

He wished then he had quit before with only one disgrace.
"I'm hopeless as a runner now; I shouldn't try to race."

But in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father's face:
That steady look which said again: "Get up and win the race!"

So up he jumped to try again --Ten yards behind the last--
"If I'm to gain those yards," he thought "I've got to move real fast."

Exerting everything he had he regained eight or ten,
But trying so hard to catch the lead he slipped and fell again!

Defeat! He lied there silently --A tear dropped from his eye--
"There's no sense running any more; Three strikes: I'm out! Why try?"

The will to rise had disappeared; All hope had fled away;
So far behind, so error prone; A loser all the way.

"I've lost, so what's the use," he thought. "I'll live with my
disgrace."
But then he thought about his dad who soon he'd have to face.

"Get up," an echo sounded low. "Get up and take your place;
You were not meant for failure here. Get up and win the race."

"With borrowed will get up," it said, "You haven't lost at all.
For winning is no more than this: To rise each time you fall."

So up he rose to run once more, and with a new commit
He resolved that win or lose at least he wouldn't quit.

So far behind the others now, --The most he'd ever been--
Still he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling; Three times he rose again;
Too far behind to hope to win he still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner as he crossed the line first place;
Head high, and proud, and happy; No falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngster crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.

And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
You would have thought he'd won the race, to listen to the crowd.

And to his dad he sadly said, "I didn't do too well."
"To me, you won," his father said. "You rose each time you fell."

Now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy helps me in my race.

For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win, is rise each time you fall.

"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!" They still shout in my face.
But another voice with me says: "GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!"


Prov 24:16
16 "For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again"
NKJV

1st Quarter Evaluation

It's the 26th of March already and a third of the year has just passed by. In my mind, I can only think of one thing to describe how these 3 months have been - a Roller Coaster ride. Here's a recap of some of the highlights: -

• Ended my AY0708 with an Excellent GPA of 4.0 :)
  
• Had a traumatic car accident
• Had a wonderful Easter celebration

Indeed this year, I have went to the peak of the mountain of victory and the lowest valley of death, but nevertheless I stand tall because I am on the shoulders of a Mighty Giant.

In the midst of all these, an encouragement from my dearest Friend keeps me going.

Just 3 days after the terrible accident happened, I was feeling very discouraged and found no strength to do anything. I was waiting at the bus stop for my bus to come and was feeling tremendously edgy. In my heart, I was complaining, angry and feeling sorry for the events that turned out in my life. Then God spoke to me, " Hey, look at the sky." As March 2008 was a month of record rainfall, the sky was overcast with gloomy clouds. I mumbled in my heart, "Ya right! Even the clouds look bad. Things are definitely bad, there's no sun at all! How terrible a situation I am in!" At that instance, I suddenly had a revelation. God impressed within my heart saying, "Surely the overcast clouds are blocking the sun. Things look bad and the rain is definitely coming. However, remember the rain that falls is given the responsibility to water the harvest you are sowing for. And further more, how long can the rain last? Eventually, the rain will run out and the clouds will be gone, the sun is going to come out."

How true it is, no trials or tribulations will last forever.

Rom 5:3-4
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

I am indeed coming out stronger, with a greater anointing for the rest of this exciting year, 2008.


PS: Anyway this is my favorite birthday present from my beloved CG, N363! Thanks guys!