Birthday surprises

Whee~~ last Friday had been really nice. 誕生日からね~~

The gang gave me a bracelet-sorta thingy (sorry, can't recall the exact name for it), it's red and has a cross on it so lol! Thanks guys! Then they 'pakat' and had the class sing me a birthday song. I thought it was weird when Mika asked me if I wanna go to the loo together. XD But thanks anyway, that made me really happeh~~

Then at night, had cell group. Incidently, another cell member had the same birthday as I do. After cell, they brought out a cake and celebrated with us. I got a good book as a present too! Then we went to 'yamcha' after that. Guess who I saw? First group was, if KM remembers, the bassist from my church, and his brother, one of the vocalists of the worship team. The one who stood out the most? Anyway, they were with their cell members too. Then lo and behold! To my utter surprise I saw Leonard and Adeline, together with one of our BPsych classmates, Leong (sorry, only remember his surname, hope it's not wrong). Apparently, Hannah Tan had an event at a venue just round the corner, so he dropped by after. Managed to talk to him a bit.

Oh oh, ppl, OCT 10-12 there's a musical in my church. Wanna invite you guys to come along, so keep your calendars free for one of those days!

IMU Cheerleading Finals + Money Issues

Went to the IMU Cheerleading Finals on Froday with my cell members. Was pretty exciting to watch. There was some problems with the PA system, so the last three teams performing lost audio at some point, but they did a really good job handling the situation, especially the final team, Phoenix. All the other teams were good too, all in a different sense. Some used more props, others emphasised more on stunts. Had a really good time, considering that I bumped into some old high school friends there. Didn't know they were in IMU...

Aside from that, my week has been filled with thought to say the least. Money is ranking tops on my worry list now...considering that I still have half of my fees to pay...not sure if we can come out with the money by the end of the month. Wondering if I should go out and look for a weekend job, but what difference will it make? I need the time for my studies...I can't afford to slip any more in my grades if I wanna aim for scholarships in the future.

Money...it's not everything in the world, but you can't live without it. That's the reality of it. It's really frustrating that it's one thing I normally don't care much about, but the one thing I really need now. I can't do anything nor control anything regarding my financial issues, and my parents said the same thing. I really can't help much, I know. But it doesn't stop me from worrying.

For now, all I can do is to do my part, the best as I can. In my case, that would mean to study well...to make sure that all the money my parents invested in my education is not wasted. I will do my best to live fully, without faltering, standing strong to support those who have expectations of me.

A fleeting thought...

Do you believe in God and the Devil? Where does the Devil come from? Does he not come from the Creator? The devil’s origin is not known, but his purpose – to wreck havoc and tempt man into sin – is well-discussed all over the world. Yet, from whence does Satan come? Is Satan and the devil the same? What of his other names, Lucifer, the fallen angel? Or Beelzebub or Belphegor or whatever other names he had been given? Are those all the same devil? Or are they all separate entities which have been associated with him? We know not the origin of the creature which ill-advised Eve to partake in the forbidden fruit. But do you not think that if God is Creator, that the devil too originated from God? Yet why would God create something that would lead man – his beloved children and creations – away from the path which God has set for him? Why indeed?

Perhaps…if one were to look at it from this perspective, the devil’s purpose was to obstruct man. He was to lead them astray with the glamour of sin. He was meant to test man, to challenge their faith and their character, that those who believed should overcome it as a testimony to God’s power and grace. God provides obstacles and temptation, but He is a Holy God. Was He to lay such obstacles before man by himself? Was it not man himself who incited these obstacles, whether by the intention of other men or by falling into sin himself? Yet, why would man – even good men – be encouraged to perform sinful deeds? Was it not also on the account of the devil that many have fallen, as many as those who, by the weakness of their character and unbelief, allowed the devil to whisper into their hearts? Those who believed and held onto their faith and were obedient overcame the temptations and attained the favour of God. If one were to look at it from this perspective, then would one not say that the devil is also a tool? Would one not say the devil was moving under the influence of God, and thus is under His control?

Do you believe in the principle of duality? Everything that exists must have an exact opposite to counter each other. Light and dark exist to counter each other. Yet, can we do away with one of them? For without the other, is there meaning in the one which is left? Have you ever thought about what it would be like should there only be light and no darkness? Would we know that light is light, seeing that we have never known darkness? Or to be in eternal darkness, if we were to never know what light was to look like, would we long for its beauty? They exist in relation to each other, just as day exists with night. Parallel, chasing each other, but never to meet…

Similarly, good and evil…the idea that is associated with God and the devil, exist to give each other meaning…to be. If we have never seen evil, would we know what was good? Yet, does this tie with everything else? I don’t really know…I am not justifying the existence of the devil, but if one believes God exists, then one should also believe that His counterpart in nature exists. Whether the devil has a purpose or not, whether he too is tied to the all the other creations of God…that I can never seek to understand, because pure truth is sometimes painful, sometimes destructive, always elusive.

Back in HELP...

Huuu...finally back in college for a brand new year, brand new sem. It looks like it's gonna be a tough sem, but an interesting one. I still haven't found a place to stay in...so I'm seriously considering staying at my aunt's place permanently. But it'll require a bit of work...like getting an Internet connection for a start...haih, too many facilities missing from the house.

Well, that aside, it looks like not much has happened...yet. Wait till the assignments pile in...bet I'll be too busy to think about much else. So for now, I've got nuts to say, but I'll check in if anything of interest happens.