Wake me up When September Ends...
Well, it’s crazy but it’s been almost three weeks since i last blogged, must be like the longest time i’ve gone without blogging in a very long time. And, i guess it’s been a combination of having nothing really much to write about and not feeling or having the will to blog in recent weeks. But yea, i haven’t really missed out on sharing stuff on my blog in the past almost three weeks, since nothing much has really happened in the weeks gone by. But, not wanting my last blog post to be about chess, i’ve managed to drag myself into writing this next post. And, coz i’m almost losing myself or even a part of me having not blogged in a while. Truth be told nothing much did happen in the past weeks but i had some things i wanted to share, so that’s what i hope to do with this post apart from updating about what’s been going on in my life.
As much as i’ve said all that stuff about the past couple of weeks being uneventful in my life, it’s surprisingly been quite up and down, but i guess overall now things are feeling quite good again now. And, yea it is certainly shocking that my life’s been so uneventful since my double trips overseas for chess tournaments, since it’s been a rather eventful time here in Singapore with the F1 and stuff. But hey yea this the ordinary life i’m life, ok however at this point i think i would like to say i’m living this ordinary life which is being used by God extraordinarily. After all, i guess that’s why I created this blog in the first place anw, so i could show my crazy life story and how God works in my life and just how i grow through life’s experiences to achieve my goals in life. Ok, to put it more succinctly how God uses my ordinary life in extraordinary ways.
Now back to this post...yea so basically, since i got back and woke up to a sunny September 10th morning my sister’s birthday actually haha, it’s been about 18 days or so. So well that’s where i’ll begin. So once i got back i suddenly was so preoccupied with chess, too preoccupied i might add. So that basically was how i spent my time from Thursday the 10th of September to the 14th or so, and of course there was the usual chess training on Saturday which i didn’t have in the end because i got a bye and not to forget Church too yea, which did sparked some thought in me as we ended the last lesson on Romans for youth class.
Then, the week that followed from the 14th to 20th which by the way was a holiday and the following Monday too, was just about me doing my usual stuff, being preoccupied with doing stuff on my com, the chess, facebook, msn, computer games, surfing and what not. And, of course sticking to my bible reading plan among other things i usual do at home. But, i didn’t have the time at all to think about setting my online store. So yea, i did learn a lot of chess stuff in that time. And, i had some thoughts which i will share later (Bottom of this paragraph). Ok, and as for the long weekend, i actually wasted it since the whole family we all didn’t really do anything at all apart from staying at home so yea.
As for my Saturday chess training, we had a simul chess tournament with one of the grandmaster coaches, where we had some controversy about resigning and i played a bad game since i played an opening i have no experience in and made an early opening error. However, as much as it seemed like a nothing week, at this point i was feeling really great and like everything felt like it was going so perfectly, life was just quite good, it seemed my life was awesome and everything was all in place, had nothing to complain about. It was just going well for me and i didn’t want this to end, just like many times i felt good about my life and it slips back down and then i feel good again and it goes down again, in this cycle of good and bad. So i wished like i would feel like this forever.
And, in fact things felt so good that week, maybe even too good that like i saw some much potential in life, suddenly i felt like there was so much in life i wanted to to do, experience and have, i felt limited by my own imagination of how great i could make my life be, as much as my life been very ordinarily boring in a long time. And at the end of the week, i was even happier when I got the Boys Like Girls new album. Still though, as i listened to some old music of the Christian nature, i was sort of reminded about how in the face of troubles and things that saddened me in life, it brought me to a deep level of emotion and passion and deep worship as I found strength and joy through my struggles especially back in school. But, now that it’s almost a year ago already, I haven’t really felt that way, so i guess in a way i missed how i could feel that way since i’ve been stuck at home and haven’t really been facing all that stuff.
But, just as soon as i felt happy about everything, it took a turn and i wasn’t feeling that great anymore. I had some minor troubles and unhappiness about certain stuff. And, like i kinda felt not so great spiritually, with like how i felt challenged by dark forces in a way. But, i stuck through that by reminding myself of God’s protection and promises. And, so through that was what i went through, however, by the end of the week, so last week, i felt better again. And, had fun watching all the action of the F1, which was awesome although i didn’t join in the atmosphere of being involved in any of the F1 related activities over the weekend. So, yea it was kinda of crazy how i went from feeling awesome, then hitting a rough patch before getting better again. And, again i’m feeling inspired to enjoy my life and do all stuff i love and make the most of life. To live life to the fullest and make everything the way i want it to be. But, as for the stuff i did, it was just the usual things in my daily schedule i guess.
Now then, here are the Bible verses that helped me when i felt challenged, which basically gave me courage to not be afraid but to know that there is nothing to fear and no evil that can change the fact that by faith i have Christ indwelling in me, and remind me of the protection i have in Christ armour of Christ and the helmet of salvation.
So below are the verses:
Joshua 1:6-9 (New International Version)
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Romans 8:38-39 (New International Version)
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (New International Version)
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Finally, it was the last weekend of September, and it was the message in Church which made me learn something about myself and being a better person, that was on my mind at the end of the month. So here’s the verse from which the message was based on:
Ephesians 4:2-3 (New International Version)
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ok, just to summarise the message, about being humble and gentle, it is important to be humble and gentle in our relationships, for no one likes a arrogant person, because they are harsh, critical of others and expect too much (perfection), and do not listen to others, and make others feel so small by putting themselves on a pedestal. And, everything that we are and have is from God, and we can do all things through Christ alone, so we cannot boast but in Jesus Christ. As for being gentle, it is not a sign of weakness but it is instead of strength and self control and a right way to deal with others. Gentle people are always people we want to be around, as it makes others feel comfortable. And, even in situation where someone has done something wrong, we should be gentle in dealing with the person, but of course in some situation there isn’t a choice. However, as much as possible gentleness is usually the best and being stern should only be a last resort.
So here are some of the verses quoted:
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
For by the grace given me i say to everyone of you; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God had given you. Romans 12:3
Brothers if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1
For me personally, i guess this an area i can improve, because i feel like I’m not always listening to others but putting my ideas and opinions first and i think know it all and fight for what i think is right by insisting I’m right. And, perhaps one reason i don’t have many friends is that I look at myself too highly and i guess tend to give people the impression that I’m too much of a perfectionist and so high and mighty coz I’m quick to point out a wrong. In fact, during the week on one instance my mum mentioned to me about the 4 basement levels at Ion Orchard and the underground passage lined by shops that leads from Ion Orchard to Wheelock Place. And, i just shrugged off the conversation, coz i assumed that i knew what she was talking about since i had already been to Ion Orchard early on. But on hindsight, i realised that those were parts of Ion Orchard that were fully built up yet when i first visited the place, or at least were areas i didn’t check out. Yea, so basically i thought i knew everything but clearly i didn’t. And, in the end, the conversation ended there. So, definitely i need to improve myself in that area and keep an open mind coz there is always other point of views we can consider from others which we may not agree with but is worth listening to, to enhance our own views. And, sometimes we may even realise that we may have been wrong. So by being humble, we do not assume we are always right and we can be more open to hear other peoples view which would allow an understanding between parties and good relationships with others. And, certainly in situations where i believe i’m right and someone else is wrong, I’ve learn to see different views and if i’m still convinced to treat others gently.
Next, bearing with one another; i mean in living with others there is always a need to accept one another for we all have our flaws and personality differences. We all make mistakes, so we need to bear with one another. And, be patient with one another, for it takes time for people to improve. So i mean, bearing with one another doesn’t mean we condone certain behaviours, but to be understanding and give the person time to improve. And, as things like personality differences and not so much right and wrong, we bear with one another by accepting each others’ different ways of doing things, and sometimes even sharing with one another their ways of doing things.
And, lastly, in making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace, since we are one body in Christ and it is sometimes hard to keep peace among so many people, we have to put in effort to ensure peace between each other and not let small things affect our relationship with God and Man. We are all part of God’s family and we should love one another as God loves us.
So i guess that is all i have to share about my last almost 3 weeks or so, the month has gone by so fast and it almost flew past like nothing ever did happen in this month. I guess it gives new meaning to the phrase wake me up when September ends, coz literally it like i feel asleep before all this and someone and i’ve been awakened at the end of September. It’s been a tale of two sides this month, a moment of feeling great and a low, and now it all feeling better again. But, now i’m just determined to live my life knowing and feeling that everything’s great, and never let the so much that i want stop me from dreaming, trying to live my life and achieve all i ever wanted in life. And, in everything all glory to God.
As much as i’ve said all that stuff about the past couple of weeks being uneventful in my life, it’s surprisingly been quite up and down, but i guess overall now things are feeling quite good again now. And, yea it is certainly shocking that my life’s been so uneventful since my double trips overseas for chess tournaments, since it’s been a rather eventful time here in Singapore with the F1 and stuff. But hey yea this the ordinary life i’m life, ok however at this point i think i would like to say i’m living this ordinary life which is being used by God extraordinarily. After all, i guess that’s why I created this blog in the first place anw, so i could show my crazy life story and how God works in my life and just how i grow through life’s experiences to achieve my goals in life. Ok, to put it more succinctly how God uses my ordinary life in extraordinary ways.
Now back to this post...yea so basically, since i got back and woke up to a sunny September 10th morning my sister’s birthday actually haha, it’s been about 18 days or so. So well that’s where i’ll begin. So once i got back i suddenly was so preoccupied with chess, too preoccupied i might add. So that basically was how i spent my time from Thursday the 10th of September to the 14th or so, and of course there was the usual chess training on Saturday which i didn’t have in the end because i got a bye and not to forget Church too yea, which did sparked some thought in me as we ended the last lesson on Romans for youth class.
Then, the week that followed from the 14th to 20th which by the way was a holiday and the following Monday too, was just about me doing my usual stuff, being preoccupied with doing stuff on my com, the chess, facebook, msn, computer games, surfing and what not. And, of course sticking to my bible reading plan among other things i usual do at home. But, i didn’t have the time at all to think about setting my online store. So yea, i did learn a lot of chess stuff in that time. And, i had some thoughts which i will share later (Bottom of this paragraph). Ok, and as for the long weekend, i actually wasted it since the whole family we all didn’t really do anything at all apart from staying at home so yea.
As for my Saturday chess training, we had a simul chess tournament with one of the grandmaster coaches, where we had some controversy about resigning and i played a bad game since i played an opening i have no experience in and made an early opening error. However, as much as it seemed like a nothing week, at this point i was feeling really great and like everything felt like it was going so perfectly, life was just quite good, it seemed my life was awesome and everything was all in place, had nothing to complain about. It was just going well for me and i didn’t want this to end, just like many times i felt good about my life and it slips back down and then i feel good again and it goes down again, in this cycle of good and bad. So i wished like i would feel like this forever.
And, in fact things felt so good that week, maybe even too good that like i saw some much potential in life, suddenly i felt like there was so much in life i wanted to to do, experience and have, i felt limited by my own imagination of how great i could make my life be, as much as my life been very ordinarily boring in a long time. And at the end of the week, i was even happier when I got the Boys Like Girls new album. Still though, as i listened to some old music of the Christian nature, i was sort of reminded about how in the face of troubles and things that saddened me in life, it brought me to a deep level of emotion and passion and deep worship as I found strength and joy through my struggles especially back in school. But, now that it’s almost a year ago already, I haven’t really felt that way, so i guess in a way i missed how i could feel that way since i’ve been stuck at home and haven’t really been facing all that stuff.
But, just as soon as i felt happy about everything, it took a turn and i wasn’t feeling that great anymore. I had some minor troubles and unhappiness about certain stuff. And, like i kinda felt not so great spiritually, with like how i felt challenged by dark forces in a way. But, i stuck through that by reminding myself of God’s protection and promises. And, so through that was what i went through, however, by the end of the week, so last week, i felt better again. And, had fun watching all the action of the F1, which was awesome although i didn’t join in the atmosphere of being involved in any of the F1 related activities over the weekend. So, yea it was kinda of crazy how i went from feeling awesome, then hitting a rough patch before getting better again. And, again i’m feeling inspired to enjoy my life and do all stuff i love and make the most of life. To live life to the fullest and make everything the way i want it to be. But, as for the stuff i did, it was just the usual things in my daily schedule i guess.
Now then, here are the Bible verses that helped me when i felt challenged, which basically gave me courage to not be afraid but to know that there is nothing to fear and no evil that can change the fact that by faith i have Christ indwelling in me, and remind me of the protection i have in Christ armour of Christ and the helmet of salvation.
So below are the verses:
Joshua 1:6-9 (New International Version)
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Romans 8:38-39 (New International Version)
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (New International Version)
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Finally, it was the last weekend of September, and it was the message in Church which made me learn something about myself and being a better person, that was on my mind at the end of the month. So here’s the verse from which the message was based on:
Ephesians 4:2-3 (New International Version)
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ok, just to summarise the message, about being humble and gentle, it is important to be humble and gentle in our relationships, for no one likes a arrogant person, because they are harsh, critical of others and expect too much (perfection), and do not listen to others, and make others feel so small by putting themselves on a pedestal. And, everything that we are and have is from God, and we can do all things through Christ alone, so we cannot boast but in Jesus Christ. As for being gentle, it is not a sign of weakness but it is instead of strength and self control and a right way to deal with others. Gentle people are always people we want to be around, as it makes others feel comfortable. And, even in situation where someone has done something wrong, we should be gentle in dealing with the person, but of course in some situation there isn’t a choice. However, as much as possible gentleness is usually the best and being stern should only be a last resort.
So here are some of the verses quoted:
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
For by the grace given me i say to everyone of you; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God had given you. Romans 12:3
Brothers if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1
For me personally, i guess this an area i can improve, because i feel like I’m not always listening to others but putting my ideas and opinions first and i think know it all and fight for what i think is right by insisting I’m right. And, perhaps one reason i don’t have many friends is that I look at myself too highly and i guess tend to give people the impression that I’m too much of a perfectionist and so high and mighty coz I’m quick to point out a wrong. In fact, during the week on one instance my mum mentioned to me about the 4 basement levels at Ion Orchard and the underground passage lined by shops that leads from Ion Orchard to Wheelock Place. And, i just shrugged off the conversation, coz i assumed that i knew what she was talking about since i had already been to Ion Orchard early on. But on hindsight, i realised that those were parts of Ion Orchard that were fully built up yet when i first visited the place, or at least were areas i didn’t check out. Yea, so basically i thought i knew everything but clearly i didn’t. And, in the end, the conversation ended there. So, definitely i need to improve myself in that area and keep an open mind coz there is always other point of views we can consider from others which we may not agree with but is worth listening to, to enhance our own views. And, sometimes we may even realise that we may have been wrong. So by being humble, we do not assume we are always right and we can be more open to hear other peoples view which would allow an understanding between parties and good relationships with others. And, certainly in situations where i believe i’m right and someone else is wrong, I’ve learn to see different views and if i’m still convinced to treat others gently.
Next, bearing with one another; i mean in living with others there is always a need to accept one another for we all have our flaws and personality differences. We all make mistakes, so we need to bear with one another. And, be patient with one another, for it takes time for people to improve. So i mean, bearing with one another doesn’t mean we condone certain behaviours, but to be understanding and give the person time to improve. And, as things like personality differences and not so much right and wrong, we bear with one another by accepting each others’ different ways of doing things, and sometimes even sharing with one another their ways of doing things.
And, lastly, in making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace, since we are one body in Christ and it is sometimes hard to keep peace among so many people, we have to put in effort to ensure peace between each other and not let small things affect our relationship with God and Man. We are all part of God’s family and we should love one another as God loves us.
So i guess that is all i have to share about my last almost 3 weeks or so, the month has gone by so fast and it almost flew past like nothing ever did happen in this month. I guess it gives new meaning to the phrase wake me up when September ends, coz literally it like i feel asleep before all this and someone and i’ve been awakened at the end of September. It’s been a tale of two sides this month, a moment of feeling great and a low, and now it all feeling better again. But, now i’m just determined to live my life knowing and feeling that everything’s great, and never let the so much that i want stop me from dreaming, trying to live my life and achieve all i ever wanted in life. And, in everything all glory to God.
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