one more thing to add to the interpretation of the passage in my previous entry-
that Jesus said those things in specific reference to the pharisees and scribes who were doing their best to tear down His ministry.
today, with the new covenant, that passage DOES NOT APPLY. uh-uh.

so all's good (:

I WATCHED TWENTY-SEVEN DRESSES.
i am a veryveryveryvery happy girl. (:

Pastor Mitch set us thinking on Mark3:28-29

"Assuredly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation."

this is something that ive thought about many times over.
my own doubts, questions from the younger ones.
and ive realised that these two verses have troubled more people than you could have ever imagined.
so for the record, from what has been explained to me, what ive gathered from the text and the believer's Bible (which is an excellent study Bible i must say), this passage is NOT in reference to a one-off sin of blasphemy
but rather (and i quote the Believer's Bible) in reference to "a mindful, willful, defiant attitude of antagonism toward God.'
how true.
its not how many times you sin, but the state of your heart when you come to the Lord.
its not what sins you have committed "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." -Romans3:23
note that this verse does not say 'sinned and fallen short' it says 'sinned and FALL short'.
that means we're still falling short of His glory. we're still stuck in our own conundrum of life
drowning in our sins (or indulging in them, whatever the case may be. haha.)

but take heart. He welcomes you with open arms. (:

on saturday during choir, we resung one of my most favorite songs ever!

my hands can only do so much
it never seems to be enough
and my voice can only
lift You so far.

my words cannot express
my tongue cannot confess
all the love that i feel, in my heart.

let my life be the praise,
that raises You Lord
let my life be the praise
be glorified in all that i do
as a daily reflection
of Your Godly perfection.

let my life be the praise,
let my life be the praise to You!

this is one of the first few songs i sang when i first joined the youth choir.. 7years ago. OLD! haha.
these songs remind me how important it is to have everything in perspective.
i couldnt sleep last night and i have no clue what i was thinking about cos it was all just a mess in my head-
but when i woke up in the morning,
i was reminded - that my all may be You.
and that it always be.

i havent listened to 98.7 in a longlong timeee.
and because my ipod ran out of battery on the way home last night,
i turned the radio on.

and heard this!
its such a lovely song.
dont watch the video though. its insanely cheesey. haha.

lovely songs make me happyyyyy (:

I know You had me on Your mind,
when You climbed up on that hill
and You saw me through eternal eyes,
while i was yet in sin-

Redeemer, Savior, Friend.

Redeemer, redeem my heart again
Savior, come and shelter me from sin
You're familiar with my weakness,
Devoted till the end-

Redeemer, Savior, Friend.

some people really make me mad.

me mad friend (:

dear cherie, yvette and sarah.
we miss you veryveryveryveryvery much.
ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE WERE MADE TO CHAIR TMR AND YOU TWITS LEFT US IN THE LURCH.
hurhur.

with much love,
chael and jus (:

the first week of school has been pretty uneventful, when compared to my extremely exciting mountain climbing/trekking/kayaking experience in vietnam. hahaha. but i suppose different experiences teach you different lessons.

im still trying to get used to the rhythm of school, organizing my time around service, ensuring that i dont lose sight of the Lord and allow my life to fall to pieces. and i must say, i have figured out the perfect system to determine whether or not i should do something, whatever it may be. the test, or the rule is that whatever i choose to do must bring me closer to the Lord. but applying the rule is the hard thing. when sin insidiously creeps in and permeates your thoughts, it makes an unwise decision seem somewhat reasonable. and when you begin rationalizing it in your head, its the slippery slope that leads to your downfall.

see my life is often filled with wise and unwise decisions, not right or wrong. its the grey areas that kill.
and so i need to keep Him in my head and my heart. very, very close to my heart.

and so vietnam was sososososososososo wonderful.
i have never had such an exciting holiday in my life!
doing all the things i would never have done in a million years.
kayaking, trekking, falling down into the mud.. haha.
the most fun ive had in a long long time
and an extremely timely reminder of the greatness of the Lord.

and i just want to write everything down before i forget.

the first experience i want to remember was when we kayaked into a really ulu part of halong bay. it was silent but the sound of leaves rustling and the waves of the ocean, and we just sat there. the silence was peaceful, yet not deafening, and so beautiful when i closed my eyes and listened, i was reminded of why i believe.

i want to remember lying on my back and staring up at the stars. and thinking that that is THE most beautiful sight i have ever seen, or will ever see.

i want to remember all the random sights we saw on the long bus trips, and the incredibly squeezy cabin with six bunk beds. the cabin being of about 1.5m in width and 1.8m in length.

i want to remember the long random conversations and laughing at the darndest things. nuaing around at a cafe for almost 2hours on our first day in hanoi. walking for an hour to get from one place to the next.

i want to remember the insanely long 16km trek up and down the mountains. where i fell into the mud, needed alot of help, got pulled up half the mountain, and kept tripping all over the place. [moral of the story: learn to laugh at yourself, if not youre gonna be one miserable dude while trekking if youre anywhere near as clumsy as me :)]

i want to remember the beautiful weather.

i want to remember all the fun i had, and everything meaningful i felt.
and i want to remember the lessons of faith, the renewal of hope and the assurance i found in His everlasting presence.

and you know sometimes when you try taking things into your own hands? then you are reminded there is something higher than yourself. and this, is it. (:

josh harnett in wicker park.
adam brody in the land of women/the oc.
cuteness redefined. hahahhahahaha.
i know what youre thinking. ditzy. out of point. irrelevant.

so my more important thought for the day, is drawn from hebrews12. the chastening of the Lord TRAINS us. to all 'churches' who preach the prosperity gospel and that God gives no earthly suffering to those that believe in Him, the first 11verses of hebrews12 destroys that completely. the chastening of the Lord is a concept ive yet to fully appreciate. everyday is a process. im getting good at falling flat and getting up. everyday. new thoughts, same focus, new filling of His Spirit. everyday (: