42

that's the temperature tomorrow . CRAZY , i tell ya. makes you wonder what everyone is gonna do at the fireworks celebration. check it out :

Melbourne Forecast
Issued at 10:50 pm EDT on Sunday 30 December 2007

Warning Summary
Fire Weather Warning: Forest fire danger will be extreme in the Melbourne
metropolitan area on Monday. CFA has declared a day of Total Fire Ban for the
Central Total Fire Ban district, which includes the Melbourne metropolitan area,
for Monday 31 December 2007.

Forecast for Monday
Fine. A hot and mostly sunny day. Moderate northerly winds developing, fresh at
times.

Precis:       Mostly sunny.                     
City:         Min 19    Max 42

Laverton:     Min 17    Max 43        Yarra Glen:    Min 16    Max 42
Tullamarine:  Min 12    Max 43        Mt Dandenong:  Min 15    Max 37
Watsonia:     Min 16    Max 42        Scoresby:      Min 16    Max 41
Frankston:    Min 16    Max 39        Geelong:       Min 16    Max 40

UV Index:     11 [Extreme] UV Alert from  9:10 to 17:40

Tuesday       Afternoon cool change.                 Min 26    Max 37
Wednesday     Fine.                                  Min 16    Max 25
Thursday      Fine.                                  Min 17    Max 30
Friday        Fine.                                  Min 19    Max 35
Saturday      Fine.                                  Min 20    Max 37
Sunday        Fine.                                  Min 17    Max 26

dunno about you, but i'm glad we're having a dinner. though it be too darn hot to do anything during the day.

ache

wah. my whole body is aching.

this reminds me - you need to do warm up before playing any sports. especially captain ball.

LASER - the church model

i can't believe it's been so long since i've wrote something so profound. This has been stuck in my heart since high school(SAM, Taylors 2002) when i first learnt about LASERs . Then, God spoke to my heart about what He wanted a church to be, and how it was connected to what I was studying. Maybe that's why i chose engineering, because i thought God would teach me to understand concepts and relate them to His word.

Anyway, we shall use the basic laser structure to demonstrate.

A laser consists of a tube of gas. Let's take the Helium Neon laser , with a 5:1 ratio. this means that for every 10% of Neon there is 50% Helium. Both gases are enclosed in a tube. When the energy source boots up, the 2kV potential strips electrons off the conductor, which collide and excite the Helium. An excited Helium electron(in a metastable phase), when colliding with the ground state Neon , will propel the Neon to a 3S state. This state is where the emission of a photon (which is required for laser) happens.

anyway, basically the Energy Source is the Holy Spirit, and the electrons are the congregation. In order for the laser to be emitted, there needs to be a "population inversion" where there is a greater number of emissions taking place , ie. Church members "shining their light". Also, 98% of the laser light produced is actually reflected back into the tube. This means that for a church to start reaching out to others, it must first start by reaching out to itself, shining their light inwards and building up relationships and encouragement.

properties of a LASER light
1) COHERENT
Different parts of the laser beam are related to each other in phase. These phase relationships are maintained over long enough time so that interference effects may be seen or recorded photographically. This coherence property is what makes holograms possible.

We base our model on the fact that the "light" produced is in fact the light spoken of in Matthew 5:14-16. The light produced by the church, the actions and works of faith in Jesus are related to each other. And these phase relationships are maintained over time, so long that in fact they are made visible to normal eyes! Shining our light to one another isn't a "just one time" affair, it takes time and effort. Until testimony after testimony comes in of how the relationship has built up and strengthened both parties. Until even other people can see and say what a good relationship-in-Christ these two brothers/sisters have!


2) COLLIMATED ie, directional.
Because of bouncing back between mirrored ends of a laser cavity, those paths which sustain amplification must pass between the mirrors many times and be very nearly perpendicular to the mirrors. As a result, laser beams are very narrow and do not spread very much.

This is simply awesome! In order for the light of the church to be penetrative into this dark world , what do we do? plunge directly into the unknown? No! we start by building each other up!

Look. The light gets amplified because it has been bouncing inside the tube for many many times before being actually burst into the outside world. When it does, it has reached a magnitude maybe 10s of 1000s of times greater than it originally was. A lot of congregations, maybe even small groups, not just churches, want to see results and start impacting their surroundings immediately. I don't recall the apostles receiving the Holy Spirit immediately when Jesus left the earth. It took 50 days till that happened. I guess what this means is that to be effective in the ministry, each and every member of the congregation must start by first demonstrating their love to one another before bursting out into the world, so that by the time they start shining their light outside it sort of comes as second nature. Note though, that 2% of leakage occurs. there is a constant output into the harsh world outside, and this output slowly gets bigger in force.


3) MONOCHROMATIC. This means that all the light is of a single colour, or more precisely, of a single WAVELENGTH. I can't stress how important this is, it is not a good idea to be on a different wavelength or frequency than your leaders and elders. It is they who steer the church in the right direction, so even if you want to diversify, if the pastor says no/wait , you should be submissive and not argue.

-yitJuan-

so much has happened

yea. so much.

What Is? came and went , and blew everyone away. 51 decisions made. 51 new brothers and sisters. awesome!

Wilson's prom was simply amazing. So nice to just look onto the majestic mountains and vast oceans that God had created. Poor kangaroo though , i think we ran over it's tail with 3 different cars.

Inner Champion was fun. I know i've heard the faith of the centurion story a million times, but it's just God's simple reassurance to me that : just ask Me , believe that if I say it , it will be done. I mean, prayer is so simple , and yet so hard. We expect instant results. We expect to SEE it happen. We expect to use visible and earthly means to get our prayers answered. We do not realise God can also work behind the scenes. We do not grasp the power of Jesus, all He needs to do is say the word and the prayer is answered. Just pray and commit to Him.

Games Day just concluded. FANTASTIC FAITH won the cup! lol it was a great team effort for everyone. I guess it all boils down to the fact that most of our members came and the familiarity and team spirit was present.

I guess i had better go back to assignments and work. I can't believe i've studied for 4.5 years to be an engineer, only to realise at the last moment that I do not want to be one, i just want to get out of uni, get a job and get married. WTF? i'm seriously sick of studying and failing and picking myself up and falling down again.

i posted a bc comic but it was too big :/

VIP

I got this from Strength For the Journey and thought i'd share it. And also so i can look back at it in times to come.
-----

If you’re among those who love God’s Word, here’s how to give it the VIP treatment in your heart.

Visualize it. Take a relevant principle from Scripture and visualize what it would look like if you lived it out. What would be the outcome of praying for your enemies? What if you gave your money to a worthy cause rather than buying that thing you’ve been wanting? Think about what it would look like if you lived out God’s Word.

Internalize it. The best way to meditate on God’s Word is to memorize it. When we get it inside our heads, it enables the Spirit to bring it to mind in “clutch” situations.

Personalize it. Don’t just think of the Scripture in vague terms, but insert personal pronouns and pray the passage back to God using “I” and “me” so that His Word is directed right to your heart.

Luke 7:47

so much has happened in my life , i'm not going to blog about that though. I'll share about Inner Champion instead.

Luke 7:47 - Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.

Church has a course for it's members called Inner Champion. It's on Tuesdays fortnightly, and it's meant to build you up in God's Word and school you in the culture of the church.

Well, 3 days before one of the meetings (i think it was week 2) I came upon this verse in my quiet time. I think I didn't take it seriously at the time, but then at church God convicted me of it's true meaning.

"Do you know how much do I love you Yit Juan?"
"Do you know how much I've forgiven?"

I know of John 3:16, which states that God so loved the world (full stop) that He gave His only begotten son (in a different sense from how you and i are adopted into God's heirs) that whosoever trusts (not simply believeth, for even the Muslims and Catholics believe in Jesus) in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I began to understand that in order to demonstrate God's forgiveness in my life , i needed to love much. Something i'm still struggling with, since it's so hard to find something to invest your love into. And i don't mean girls or stuff like that. I mean tangible friends. But i'm trying, and i feel it's best to love non-christians, because us christians already have God to turn to. It's the harvest which needs God.

Anyway, during Inner Champ, Ps. Debbie Prescott decides to share on forgiveness as well :)

Matt 6:15 - But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

So i found out that God's love comes full circle.

He first loved us -> He forgave us -> therefore we should love others much -> therefore we should forgive others much -> and by doing so we are constantly being renewed by God! and as we sin a lot in our daily lives it makes much sense to love and forgive others so that you may be forgiven by God.

Amen!

ScribeFire

OK OK this is so cool.

ScribeFire is an integrated blog editor ... integrated into FireFox.

it lets you blog from firefox, so you dont need to open up multiple stuff . simply cut and paste :D

Powered by ScribeFire.

MY HOPE IS FOUND IN YOU

i simply love this song

lay down my life before You Lord
stand here in wonder of Your love
Lord i live for You alone
You're worthy of all praise

all of heaven shouts Your Name
all the earth will bring You praise
with my life i honour You
You're worthy of all praise

You're all i want
You're all i need
my one desire

my hope is found in You
everything i need is at Your feet
my life i lay it down an offering
i'm living for the glory of Your Name

You are all i need
You are all i need
You are all i need
Jesus


2 parts strike me the most:
i) "With my life i honour You"
A promise, to honour God with all my life. i know i may not be there totally but i'm trying so hard and i know that if i honour God with my life He will bless me in return

ii) "everything i need is at Your feet"
i cant stress how much i feel about this line. the notion that we throw down all our achievements and burdens and kneel at the feet of Jesus. the allusion to the simple sacred worship that the prostitute did, pouring her year's wages of perfume onto His feet and wiping it clean with her hair, her crowning glory. What is my crowning glory? it is nothing more than a gift from God, to be used to display radical worship to my creator.

lake wallpaper

So serene ...





on another note , i've got 2 more exams ... 22nd and 25th! arghh ... so far away

Discipline

i'm up at the crack of dawn.

but my housemate is up earlier. He's a devout Muslim, who (i just found out recently) wakes up at 5:30am every day to do his solat. hey , i think he just went back to bed.

i truly respect that. I mean , he is serving his God diligently , and does his prayers 5 times a day.

What about me?

I know i shouldn't compare, what with 2 different religions and all that, but his faith towards Allah really inspires me. What do i do for God everyday? do i spend even once in close contact with Him? do i indulge in a little intimacy with my beloved Saviour? do i dance before His throne of salvation? do i speak of His mercy and grace?

even waking up early is a pain for some ppl (like the pig in me)

but there's more to life than 8 hours of sleep. More than simply a 5 minute phone call to God. More than just a wandering stumble through the road we call life.

i made a promise - my knees are gonna get chapped and crisped from kneeling before my King.

Disappointment Builds Character

finding it hard to blog recently , what with the internet shaping and all uni work. But God has been blessing me time and time again, and I know He won't let me down!

I just thought i'd share about disappointment. Lately I've been thinking, why don't I step out of my shell a bit more. Maybe because I'm afraid of being disappointed by the world and stuff in life. But i read somewhere(i think it was a secular thingie) that parents who allow their children a greater deal of freedom, while not slacking the reins totally, end up giving their children a better childhood and they grow molded into better and more resilent characters.

so ... i'm gonna do the impossible.

step up and step out. Not afraid of rejection or fear , knowing that i live for worshiping and serving my God ONLY.

my desktop

is so friggin' cool.


okok , so it's not ALL that awesome. But it works.

style: Minimal
i launch progs/apps with Launchy(it's not a dock, it's a keyboard ninja's best weap)
Samurize for the clock in the bottom right corner
Yahoo Widgets for the darn weather(gonna change to Samurize soon)

jacket

GUESS how much i paid for this



...
...
...


hahaha ... $10

i'm cheap , no?

spider-man 3 sneak peek

for those who haven't watched spider-man 3 , here's how Harry dies to Peter Parker

uncapped

back to normal. *sigh* breathes a sigh of relief.

the past 2 weeks have been on 56k after we accidentally exceeded our cap ... after 1 week! darnit ...

hopefully we wont have to upgrade to the 20+40 gb plan ... which will burn another extra $6 pp

Porsche Salesman

Tonight was simply fantastic! I love it when God speaks to you , even though what He says is basically what you need to hear but DON'T want to hear.

Ps. Rob taught us DNA-ers (heheh) about how to live our lives as a disciple. How a Porsche salesman doesn't drive a HR Holden to work (fyi, it's a 1966 really old junk car ... here). Instead he drives a Porsche!

And then it struck me what he was trying to say. Basically, unless you have the intimate feel and know the workings of a Porsche, unless you can testify and say "Look, I drive a Porsche, this is how and so and forth ..." You're not gonna convince much people!

How is it with our Christian walk, that we can say and tell others to do this and that but we're not walking the walk and living the life Christ died and lay down for us?

I'm challenged to do more than just live life the mundane way. It's time for a challenge.

wormie

oh lookie , an earthworm! apparently this is the gippsland earthworm which grows up to 3 metres and has a diameter of 2cm!

i knew about this long time ago but recently this came up in some convo and so i decided to get it on my blog to prove a point. :P

test

testing to see if email blogging is enabled

-yitJuan-
i wanna have fantastic faith!

---

Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos.

GOD IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE

MY GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD; MY GOD REMEMBERS MY PRAYER AND LIFTS ME UP!

Isaiah 46:4 - I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

What a powerful promise! I first came across this verse when I was searching for something that I could hold on to, a promise that would carry me through my exam period where after the Easter break, we had 3-4 tests and assignments due. And God showed me that He would indeed rescue me.

I thought that was it. Done deal, settled.

HIS LOVE EXTENDS BEYOND WHAT WE IMAGINE!

Entering planetuni camp, I was struck with sickness. I believe it was due to an excessive overdose of timtams, chocolate and coffee, combined with my lack of fruits. Luckily, i thought, i had packed Panadol and Spirulina in my bag.

It was no use. I was desperate for healing. I prayed, I prayed, I took my pills and prayed more. But no. I wouldn't get healed. I couldn't sleep during the first night, and came the next morning with a throbbing headache, bad cough, runny nose and a really bad mood. But God is great! He sustained me throughout the camp!

I was wondering why I didn't get healed entirely. Was it because of my faith, or lack thereof? But no ... God wanted to show me that His promises are true, that He is faithful through and through. I sit at my desk and type, yea, He has sustained and carried me through my infirmity, through my pain, through my suffering, and delivered me from the hands of the evil one into Jesus's grace and mercy!

I wait eagerly for God to reveal more of that verse to me.

I know God was referring to that verse throughout camp, because on the last day a song came into my head - the Hillsongs "Who compares to You(Magnificent)" kept playing in my head. And I thought, wow, what a nice praise to offer unto God. But when I returned to Isaiah 46:4 , there it was! The subsequent verse said : "To whom will you compare Me or count Me equal? To whom will you liken Me that we may be compared?"

And I was dumbstruck with awe. I never read that verse for some reason, God had kept that hidden from me in order

to prove that He is faithful and true. WOW!!!!!!

And I shall leave you with this - We serve a risen God, who is Faithful and True, to His Word and Promises. Glory be to God forever and ever, AMEN!

marked

I am marked



and so is my metallic Bible

lol planetuni camp was fun, awesome and mind-blowing. I came down with a sore throat and fever the first day of camp, but God healed me (almost totally) on the last day. Felt so good on the last day!

all in all it was a total blast! now though i gotta focus on studies and exams ... :(

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM DAD

simple text message from my dad, who's always typing in caps ... because that's the only way he does it. I wonder if he's using the k750i i got for him ... but he doesn't know how to use dictionary or T9 sms i think. Hopefully he does ... how alike are my dad and brother , they both can't use T9 ... hahaha , it's a preference i guess.

BUT that really meant a lot to me dad. You prolly won't read this, but i wonder if i'm on your mind a lot. Maybe even more that what God thinks , or equal?

I just feel a really overwhelming sense of burden for you, dad. I really wanna connect with you. Can you hear me?

love you.
-Juan-

chasing Life

Imagine you're with your daughter. You decide to play hide and seek. She closes her eyes and counts to , say 20. You run and hide.

How do you hide?

You hide, but you want to be found. You await eagerly the moment when she cries with delight , squealing "I found you!" as you sweep her into your arms and lift her up into the sky.

Our God hides in the same way.

When you're down and tired, we think ... "Where is God?" All He wants is for us to press on harder. It's like finishing counting, looking around and immediately getting down on our knees and crying. We need to push on harder and CHASE after our God. He's always waiting to catch us and fill us, and lift us higher.

Proverbs 8:17 says "I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me will FIND Me." And in verse 35, it says "For whoever finds Me finds life."

SO ... do you want to know if you're living life? Go find Jesus.

go climb a mountain

it's been ages , eh ... ...

just got back from church. or actually, dinner AFTER church. God bless Joshua Ong for driving us to Raffles Place. their char kuey teow is the rox! it's on the corner of johnston st and ... i forget. go ask him instead.

church sharing was awesome , so many ppl giving their life to Christ. me ... sorta zoned out at the start of the sermon, and that was because God hit me real hard when Rob said something about "when Jesus wanted to seek refuge in the Lord, he would climb a mountain"

and that hit me. most of the time when we are burnt out, yup we go to a quiet place. and relax.

why would Jesus do the opposite, grab his hiking boots and go climb a mountain?

God asked me - at what point of time do i feel most alone?

usually its when i'm climbing a high mountain in life. either that or weathering a storm. those times, in life, i feel the most alone, because apart from God and a few close friends, usually everyone just leaves you alone. or you "island" yourself.

-
so the next time u wanna take refuge in the Lord, don't relax kick back and lie down. take the challenge, press in harder and serve harder. u'll find that when u push harder than before u'll find true peace and refuge in the ways of the Lord.