Thank You Lord

I chanced upon this song this afternoon and was blessed by it!

Thank You Lord for the Trials that Come My Way

Thank you, Lord,
for the trials that come my way.
In that way I can grow each day
as I let you lead,
And thank you, Lord,
for the patience those trials bring.
In that process of growing,
I can learn to care.

But it goes against the way
I am to put my human nature down
and let the Spirit take control of all I do.
'Cause when those trials come,
my human nature shouts the thing to do;
and God's soft prompting
can be easily ignored.

I thank you, Lord,
with each trial I feel inside,
that you're there to help,
lead and guide me away from wrong.
'Cause you promised, Lord,
that with every testing,
that your way of escaping is easier to bear.

But it goes against the way
I am to put my human nature down
and let the Spirit take control of all I do.
'Cause when those trials come,
my human nature shouts the thing to do;
and God's soft prompting
can be easily ignored.

I thank you, Lord,
for the victory that growing brings.
In surrender of everything
life is so worth while.
And I thank you, Lord,
that when everything's put in place,
out in front I can see your face,
and it's there you belong.

Verily, verily I say unto thee

Truth is always Truth.
Where followers err,
And institutions falter,
It remains the Truth.
Even when the world denies
and eyes turned away
with the ears shut to refuse.
It remains the Truth.
Said to be contradictory
Labelled as confusing
Illogical and seemingly baseless.
It still remains as the Truth.

Jesus said, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life...'. Even if Christians have erred, fallen, and denied Him and the behaviour of Christian and the institutions inconsistent with what Jesus said, it does not invalidate Jesus as the truth. In no way does the fallible nature of man discredit Christ's infallible nature. He is the Truth and remains so; unaffected by what the world believe, say, do and deny. It does not matter what I think or what you think. Our opinions are altogether weightless. Nothing can change the truth that Jesus is the "Way, Truth and Life'.

I am not Procrustes

A quote that spoke to me this morning.

"Our danger is to water down God’s word to suit ourselves. God never fits His word to suit me; He fits me to suit His word." Oswald Chambers, Not Knowing Wither

Down Avon Gorge

Last night I was informed of an abseiling event for charity today by my hallmate and I agreed without any hesitation. The both of us spent 4 hours travelling and waiting in the cold rain for our descent. Here's my hallmate at his turn.

Though I had no experience in abseiling, it was pretty safe so I was generous in lowering myself quickly down the cliff. How can you bear to lower cautiously? Certain parts were challenging for a total greenhorn like me but it was fun. I really liked the feeling of releasing myself down with the sound of the sliding rope.Will definitely try it again in the future!

Stuck

You get pins and needles if you stay too long in the same position. 

Moving On

This week brings about the graduation ceremony in my school. Seeing the graduands in their gown brought about memories of my graduation ceremony 3 years ago and increased my wish to graduate now... it is not that I dont enjoy being a student, but i realise that i always am looking forward to the next phase of life.

4 years ago i couldnt wait for my last semester to end and graduate.
3 years ago i couldnt wait to get out of army on the 1st day i enlisted.
1 year ago i couldnt wait to go to law school (must have been crazy)
Now i cant wait to graduate.

Perhaps there is always a desire for adventure beneath this expressionless face. This probably explains my liking towards thrills and the tendency to do push one's limit where appropriate.
Skydiving during Easter break sounds good!

Of love and a demon

M. Denis de Rougement wrote, "Love ceases to be a demon only when he ceases to be a god." C.S. Lewis paraphrased it be,"[love] begins to be a demon the moment he begins to be a god."*

God is love, but love is not God. There is "nearness by likeness" and there is "nearness by approach".* If love becomes a persons's god, it becomes a person's demon.*

*C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Allure of Snow

Since my polytechnic days, I've had the habits of not attending less useful lectures (I remember walking out on one, with my classmate saying we were engineering students :P), playing psp during boring lectures and listening to music during most lectures. Some habits still survive up till this day. Oh, did I mention dozing off in lectures in the front row? Lately I started having problems with my 9am lectures. With the subzero weather plus less-than-ideal sleep I have been having, waking up early for law lectures is a pain. (While typing, I paused to think about how I woke up almost 5am plus daily in the army - no excuse!) But snoozing the alarm and continue sleeping is just too enjoyable a comfort to ignore. Besides, lectures are recorded and uploaded online - so why the trouble?

This morning was no different, except that I knew it would be snowing early in the morning. I was not disappointed when I woke up to see white rooftops across the street. It was snowing again! There was something so alluring about snowfall. Watching the snowflakes 'floating' down and dancing as the wind dictates is a really beautiful sight. While walking through the snowfall last weekend and listening to Bach Violin Sonata, I told myself that I have already completed an objective of studying in Europe. So, I was soon up and awake, dressed and ready; not for lecture, but for a walk to a certain Brandon Hill park at 8am.

From the view off Cabot Tower, it was white and misty. Without any proper footwear, it was an exciting time of walking up slippery footpaths and an even more exciting time sliding down like a penguin. The feeling of snow against my face and the sound of the shoe on the snow on the ground was great. Unfortunately, it was soon time to attend the lecture.

After sliding down more footpaths and climbing up more slopes, I walked into the wrong lecture theatre. Seems like a wrong decision was made again to attend lectures.

Snow

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55 

 "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing tkaen from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him" Ecclesiastes 3

Muse

Sometimes, you only realise what you really want when you don't achieve it.

Gem

I am probably being weird but I actually enjoyed reading the below passage written by Lord Steyn. While I do not have the aspiration of being a judge, I suppose this is something which lawyers have to be mindful of as well. 
"Judge Learned Hand once said: “A society whose judges have taught it to expect complaisance will exact complaisance …If the judges of today teach a new generation of lawyers, and judges, that complaisance by the judiciary to the views of the legislature and the executive in policy areas is the best way forward, one of the pillars of our democracy will have been weakened. In troubled times there is an ever present danger of the seductive but misconceived judicial mindset that “after all, we are on the same side as the government”. 
Instead the judges of today must show by example to a new generation of lawyers, and judges, that it is the democratic and constitutional duty of judges to stand up where necessary for individuals against the government. The public is entitled to expect impartial and effective decision-making by a judiciary fulfilling its democratic duty in full measure--neither more nor less." 

- Lord Steyn, Deference: a tangled story