Note-taking

Don't stop doing what's good.

A couple of people have mentioned how my sermon notes are not the normal ones they've seen.

I take it as a positive thing, and decided to put up today's notes. You start at the top left corner where the preacher's name is [Ps Ashley Evans]. Then just follow the arrows. If they branch, pick one to follow, and come back to the other branch later.

Key phrases:

"This time, I'm gonna praise God." - Leah, found in verse 35, chapter 29, Genesis.

Praise comes first

Praise protects the dream (& dreamer)

Praise protects the vulnerable

Greet your day with praise

Praise puts pressure on the problem

Praise leads us out of trouble

Praise delivers a Hollywood ending

The 4th point is my paraphrase (coz I didn't catch the exact words).

Hmmm.

Might do this more often :)

Pairs^2

Squared.

It was getting dark. Jack had just bathed after running the whole path around the games centre in town. Now he was sitting outside his door, looking into the horizon as the sun began to set.

It's so hard to believe that I almost did this, he thought to himself.

True. Many times you don't see the reason why some things happen.

I actually desired her; I wanted her so much!

He recalled a time during The Worship of God, how he looked at Jyllian from the distance, his passions rising within him. Oh, how beautiful she is! And all this happened during a holy moment in the temple!

But it felt so right back then! Exactly. He was not looking at other girls, and he was not in haste to propose to Jyllian. My only concern was whether it was the right moment to do it.

Many times you don't see the reason why some things happen. Until the thing is past.

So is it past now? Could he tell?

I can't. Yet he has learned to not dwell too much on what the eyes can see, or the flesh can experience, or what life can pride itself in. Like winning a fair lady's love. To behold her beauty, or enjoy her, or show her off - a living trophy. No, true love must be more than this.

Jack knows of people who have settled for less. He decided not to be one of those.

It was finally dark - the sun had fully set. Jack arose, turned around, and entered his house. A lot more needs to be done. Until then, I will not just resort to satisfying my own self.

Picture credit: media.photobucket.com (Kagaya)

Supply Bags

Beginnings, part 2.

So what was my supply bag for 2008? So run to win. Mentioned in verse 24, chapter 9, in 1st Corinthians. It really struck me once I saw a video of the Beijing Olympics, where Usain Bolt broke the 100m sprint record. I realised that to win my race, I gotta run. Not jog, walk, stand or sit. Run. It tells me that what I've gotta do is pretty specific, and I can't get it done another way. And I've gotta run my race. Not other peoples'. Makes a big difference. It also says to win. What's a common factor in winners? They train (really) hard. That's what they do every day.

For 2009, the words I received were: Looking unto God (Jesus), the Author and Finisher of our Faith. As of now I'm still thinking through the aftermath of my Sem 4 result, which - if I compared to my targeted marks and grades - is disastrous, so this isn't entirely clear to me yet. It seems strange why a year that began so well (straight H1 final result...made up of H1 in almost all tests) ended with my worst result since starting uni. Maybe God's saying, "Hey, relax. I'm still here with you, Creski. Why don't you take your eyes off your disappointments and look to me instead?"

So here I am, waiting on the next instructions, a bit like a German shepherd waiting for his owner's commands. Or more like a Private waiting on the General's word. I keep doing what's routine (wake up, do devotion during quiet time, make breakfast, brush my teeth, wax my hair, etc), but the challenge is to keep a sensitive ear to His words saying: This is the way, walk in it. This is my 2010.

Ooh, I can tell you that I'm expecting a lot of stuff, especially new, exciting ones. A sneak peek: I'm doing Advanced Neuroscience at Howard Florey Institute/Florey Neuroscience Institutes, starting in July. I'm expecting discovery. Oh yeah.

Picture credit: operations.mod.uk

Warning

Sometimes it just happens without warning. Other times, it is the actual warning itself.

Remember Jonah who tried to run away from his divine calling of being sent to Ninevah? That great city has no other access to the message of salvation.

Aren't we like Jonah at times? For me, I've got my own "Ninevah". Yet last year I recall a time when I considered not visiting this Ninevah as much as I used to. Instead I desired to hang out somewhere else.

Why? Because I could get something out of it (the other place). Ninevah offers me nothing. Can't get a mate for me, or Mum will kill me for marrying/dating 'foreigners' (a certain type of them). Heh, I was thinking too much about my own comfort.

Ninevah was a place of a certain living standard, and it's not astronomical. But the other place was. I mean, you can spend as much silver and gold as you wanted, and no-one would stop you. In Ninevah almost everyone is rationed, so you take care of your expenses. Which was a good thing to do, right?

But I was thinking of a second job to supplement my income (1st job is a disciple to a health consultant...which isn't an actual job). You know why? I was thinking of the fine clothes I could wear. The fine food I could dine on. The fine places I could visit. The fine this-and-that. Especially when I could get myself a mate in the process. Oooh, romantic! There's nothing wrong with that taken by itself, but if you look at my personal context, then it means serious trouble. I was deviating away from Ninevah.

Big Boss has said to me: This is the way, walk in it. I take it to heart, especially this year. He says, do not stray from it, either to the left or the right.

That was the warning, and I better take heed.

Longing for Something

How I miss thee, Melbourne!

Haven't you ever felt that something was missing when you were away from this beautiful city?

Perhaps I had too many idle days in Kg Taginambur that I actually thought studying was fun. Think about that. It actually can happen. You know, when you have absolutely nothing else to do, you'd rather be studying.

I miss the productive moments. Even in a rather mundane day, as routine and uneventful as it may seem, the productivity level looks very high compared to my developing hometown. Five hours in a lab could mean 1 research question being explored and solved - e.g. by doing some Western blotting experiments - while the same number of hours back home might never yield the same amount of new knowledge gained here.

Maybe that's the difference between a first-world, developed country and a third-world, developing one.

But my emphasis is not judgement ("Melbourne is better than KK").

KK means a lot to me, and I might end up living and settling down there one day. It's just that, at present, I can't contain this strange combined feeling of excitement and gratefulness for me to be where I am.

Hey Melbourne, I'm so happy to be here. And you know what, even during the days when I don't emotively feel excited, I'll at least have an attitude of excitement (don't think that's impossible).

I'm here to learn as much as I can before I enter the medical field. Gosh, I'm actually already in. It's just that I'm not a paid worker yet, so I'm not yet tied to the occupational obligations that doctors are.

Back when I was 9 or 10, I wrote down "Scientist" as one of my ambitions.

A scientist discovers new stuff. Discovery's coming. Oh yeah.

Come on, Melbourne, show me the substance of those prestige and university rankings!

Picture credit: wehi.edu.au