Have Your Way

Fell in love with this awesome, heartfelt, honest, fearful, insecure song about trusting God - even if it means death.

Songs written with such candour, openness and honesty can only be from this awesome female Christian artist, Britt Nicole.

Below is the link and the lyrics...

HAVE YOUR WAY
Britt Nicole                                                       Key: F#

Christian Contemporary (Slow)

FEELS LIKE I'VE BEEN HERE FOREVER
WHY CAN'T YOU JUST INTERVENE?
DO YOU SEE THE TEARS KEEP FALLING?
AND I'M FALLING APART AT THE SEAMS
BUT YOU NEVER SAID THE ROAD WOULD BE EASY
BUT YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE
AND YOU NEVER PROMISED THAT THIS LIFE WASN'T HARD
BUT YOU PROMISED YOU'D TAKE CARE OF ME.

Chorus:
SO I'LL STOP SEARCHING FOR, THE ANSWERS
I'LL STOP PRAYING FOR, AN ESCAPE
AND I'LL TRUST YOU GOD, WITH WHERE I AM
AND BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL HAVE YOUR WAY
JUST HAVE YOUR WAY
JUST HAVE YOUR WAY

WHEN MY FRIENDS AND MY FAMILY HAVE LEFT ME
 AND I FEEL SO ASHAMED AND SO COLD
REMIND ME THAT YOU TAKE BROKEN THINGS
AND TURN THEM INTO BEAUTIFUL

EVEN IF MY DREAMS HAVE DIED
AND EVEN IF I DON'T SURVIVE
I'LL STILL WORSHIP YOU WITH ALL MY LIFE
MY LIFE

I KNOW YOU WILL.
I WON'T FORGET.
WHOA-OH
YOU LOVE ME.
HAVE YOUR WAY.
YEAH

This song really ministered to me as the chorus really describes me. I keep trying to figure out the answers...I keep trying to figure out how is it all going to work out.

The latter part of the chorus is a challenge for me to jump of the cliff into free-fall mode and trust that God will catch me. To trust my Saviour with all I am and believe that He will have His way.

Not an easy thing to do...but this song just airs your heart as your spirit cries out to God "Jesus I believe! Help me with my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Pray this song touches your heart as much as mine :)

Vrroom vrroom?

Today, 27/5/2011, Friday, is the day I took my driving test.

Everything went well...or so it seems. No cock up, nothing, everything went smoothly. Tester didn't say much. So when we ended the test, I was pretty confident of passing.

I was still smiling as I walked confidently with my tester to discuss my test results.

Then he took out my evaluation paper, my jaw dropped, heart sank, face turned crestfallen and mind rewinding to the parts that could've caused my failure.

Circuit - Full marks. WHEE!
General Driving - Rabak...in the stupidly, ngeow instructor's eyes.

Here's a breakdown of what happened:

Change lane abruptly - 12 points in total. 3 counts of 4 points.
?? Abrupt? How gradual you want me to turn into the next lane? Haha. Fine, this one give you, I'm reckless.


Incorrect checking of blind spot/mirror - 3 points in total. 2 counts of 2 points.
You know what the tester told me after the test? "You turn your head too much when you look over your shoulder"
-___-"
I check blind spot also not happy, I make you blind on the spot ah! HAHA!

Incorrect braking technique - 4 points in total. 2 counts of 2 points.
I was in 1st gear, about to make a right turn when the light turned amber. So I braked...kinda abrupt braking la so that I won't pass the stop line and fail ma. Aiyo...

Insufficient acceleration - 2 points in total. 2 counts of 2 points, 1st count free.
In the circuit, low speed control is crucial. I have no problems with that...Only twice in the whole test did my vehicle vibrate due to insufficient acceleration.

Aiya, even my seasoned instructors when they drive also sometimes got vibration one...you can't always get perfect biting point what...unless you always step your clutch in la...which is also wrong. Haha.

Roll backwards - Less than 1 metre. 2 points in total. 1 count of 2 points.
Was on the road with a gentle slope/gradient. In that split second when you remove your foot from the brake and transfer it to the accelerator, the car will roll back for that 0.5 seconds. For that I got 2 points -.-"

Then I must pull handbrake and get biting point before moving off meh?? Like in the circuit? Aiyo...

I failed not because I can't drive well or drive safely, it's because of all these small mistakes - which I think are too trivial to deny me of my license - added up.

Oh well, so much for all the justifications. I will go back and book another test date. Better pass the next time man.

Overall, for this test, many ppl told me "Don't sad la...try again". I told them "I'm not sad, I'm pek chek."

Haha. O well, better luck next time Jonavan! :) Oh, wait...I don't believe in luck. Ok, better favour from God next time. HAHA! Jkjk :D All the best next time! :)

Pre-TP-Phase

Tomorrow (26/5/2011) is my last driving lesson!! Really thank God for this divine, last minute lobang. Was praying real hard for a slot a day before my driving test...It didn't come until Monday! Hallelujah! :D

Anyway, just took my 2nd last driving lesson on Monday. The instructor assessed me and I got JUST NICE 20 POINTS!! HU LEE YAA!!! Oh, the agony.

I was quite stupid also la...Minus quite a lot of points for nothing. Like the green arrow come up already I still dreaming of my license, staring into blank space...haha.

And forgetting to change to gear 2 after I come to a complete stop -___-"

Without all these, PASS LIAO LO!

His verbal evaluation went something like this "You are a very good driver. But you are not paying attention. By day dreaming you are telling the tester you are not interested in getting your license! Drive safely! You can drive one, just need to be a safe driver!"

Amen to that one...LOLS!

My first full assessment I got 36 POINTS!! Clear cut failure...Keep forgetting to check blind spots while doing parking -.-" + all the same mistakes I committed for my 20 points one.

Anyway, I really pray that I will pass! Because if I don't, I'll have to take like 4 more lessons to familiarize myself with the NEW test routes!! 6th June onwards the test routes will all be changed...to be more difficult as feedback-ed from all the instructors that took me.

So, Heavenly Father, please let the road conditions be good! And don't let any errant learner drivers in the circuit or on the road or any reckless lao jiao drivers cause me to fail!! I know I'm able to pass one God! So grant me your peace and confidence as I stride into the Driving Centre this Friday! :) In Jesus' most holy, powerful, precious, mighty and glorious name I pray, Amen! :D

Impromptu Performance @ Timbre (Part 2)...

Here's part 2 of the vicious set-up...HAHA! :P



Like the previous post on my video...I'll attach another favourite picture for this event :)

Elhannah, Me & Cheryl :)

That's all for this event...Hope to go for one more like this soon :D

Impromptu Performance @ Timbre (Part 1)...

Video 1 of my impromptu, sabo-ed performance at Old School @ Timbre.



Read my previous post in this and you'll get the full story...Haha. And here's one of my fav. pics of that event! :)

 It wasn't planned...Me & Joshua :)

Cell Outing at Timbre @ Old School :)

It was a day before Vesak Day (18/5/2011) when Sherry SMSed me an update "Jonavan we'll be meeting at Timbre @ Old School tomorrow!"

I almost forgot about the outing. Haha. I was still planning to check my recruit's book out to get my half day off some more...haha.

Anyway, I went! Of course. An awesome group of friends at an awesome place will make an awesome experience :)

We ordered like 4-5 pizzas? Can't remember the exact number. Ordered their all-time-famous Duck Pizza...plus Pepperoni pizza, some seafood pizza, etc...Haha.

The most shocking discovery I had was discovering that Qiulin loves beer! She ordered one tall glass of it!

I gulped down a mouthful and my face became involuntarily contorted in reaction to its bitter taste which I figure I will never be able to acquire. Haha.

Anyway, here's the pictures...

Me & Ken :)

One look at Ken, I knew he booked out of camp. Dressed in his standard white long sleeve shirt, formal black pants and formal shoes, botak head & black spectacles, I need only to glance a second to know he is an OCT - Officer Cadet Trainee.

Chatted about his experience in camp and all...Glad he's doing fine. But he isn't holding too positive an outlook toward OCS. He told us he doesn't mind OOC-ing and he told us he would have preferred training in SCS (Specialist Cadet School)

Of course I advised him otherwise...On the basis of pay and pride. Haha. The temporal suffering is worth it I guess. His OCT pay is around 80% of my sergeant pay already. And when he's commissioned, it's around 120% of my 3SG pay.

Haha...ok, on with the pictures...

Sherry, Me & Elhannah :D

Elhannah came from work so she was a bit late. But nevertheless, her presence made the table more lively :) haha.

The moment she came she started talking to her guy friends at another table...Whoa...Just like me the other time. HAHA!

When I met them at Just Acia at Downtown East, I saw my army friends and went to sit with them. HAHA!

And I think Sherry came from SIM. Haha. She still is one of the most awesome junior (compared to me) cell leaders I know that has a heart of gold overflowing with love for her members.

 Elhannah, Myself & Cheryl :)

Cheryl's bubbly personality simply overflows and you won't feel sian around her...unless you tao her...Duh. Haha.

A very spontaneous, impromptu person like myself, we can talk about almost anything. From asking about her sister to playing her cutesy handphone game together...you know who to call when you're bored. HAHA!

Me, Cheryl, Alicia & Eunice :)

Faithfulness is the word to describe Eunice man. She has been in my zone since.....since I was in my zone. HAHA! And she still is!

I really respect her faithfulness and her spiritual maturity is also there. She once encouraged me after my cell sharing by telling me how encouraged she was by my sharing. :)

Elhannah kept complaining about my face spoiling this picture...HAHA! I think I look fine :) HAHA!

3SG Jonavan Lee & OCT Ken Lok :)

Me & Joshua :D

I was shocked when I saw Joshua with all of them at the MRT. His shirt bears A STARK RESEMBLANCE TO MINE!! HAHAHA!

He's just not as hot as me...thus he has to wear an inner shirt to compensate...HAHAHA! LOLS!

We just can't get enough of each other...HAHA!

This is our last pic together...Haha. With our trademark ARMY SPECTACLES! :D

 Joshua, Jonavan, Kevin & Joel...you can tell who's the odd one out not just by looking at our hair lengths, but looking at the first letter of our names...HAHA! :P

 

We took another one...because she complained the previous one had my spoiler face...Haha!

I put my camera on a double snap mode. It will take one without flash and one with flash simultaneously.

Some of the pictures without flash look really good, but they're really dark. So I adjusted the brightness and contrast and this is the result :)

Sherry, Me & Elhannah :) - I don't look so spastic like the one with the flash...Haha.

 Elhannah, Me & Cheryl :) - Cheryl doesn't look so spastic like the one with flash...HAHA! :P

 No more shiny faces due to excessive facial oil! HAHAHA! :P

Yup, had a great time spent with my (ex) cell group :) This isn't the end of the story...

Some smart aleck had to sabo me...He/She SMSed the performers "Hi, I'm Jonavan. It's my birthday today and I would like to do a duet with you :)"

-___-"

Haha...I cannot relate this experience with words as I was involuntarily ushered to the stage by the cheers of my cell mates followed by the rest of the crowd present there.... -.-" HAHA!

Sherry videoed my impromptu performance down...I'll upload it soon :D Stay tuned! :) Haha!

Prayer Meeting in HoGC

It was the first prayer meeting I ever attended in Heart of God Church. It was awesome. Attendance was a full house. Whole auditorium filled.

Here's what I think makes it so awesome.

1) The musicians really knew how to build atmosphere and flow with the spirit. As much as it's not about the music, but they know how to use music to enhance and facilitate our encounter with God.

Like a catalyst, which is used to hasten up the reaction time between two substances, their use of music is really a great tool.

Their musicians are also sensitive and have a unity in playing together that brings out not just good music but a heartfelt cry expressed through music.

2) The people came with one expectation - to seek God and pray for a breakthrough in church, in their lives, etc...

They came to pray. Not out of obligation or guilt that says "Whoa, if I don't come reflects bad on myself and my leaders lei..." kinda thing. They don't come for convenience sake.

Just 20 minutes of speaking in tongues and you feel like you've been in God's presence like forever. Haha.

3) They have a focus.

Ps How's direction for the prayer meeting is hearing from God...So we will find 3 persons to pray for. First we'll pray a general blessing...He likens it to carpet bombing. Haha.
Next we'll pray for a more specific area of the person's life.
Finally we'll pray for a word of knowledge for someone.

Before we start each instance, he'll do a short sharing. No need so theological but a pragmatic one that enables us to understand the concept and able to apply it.

4) They have a strong positive culture established.

Underlying every pointer will lie this one. Their good culture will make running any event or doing any activity exciting because the members are all supportive of the leadership and excited about what it has to offer because they have a strong and nimble leadership team.

Anyway, here's my personal encounter...

There is a 20minute praying strong in tongues session. I was just praying in strong tongues when suddenly, after about 5-10mins, God began to lay on my heart burden of praying for Bethel again.

As I began to pray for its leaders, my heart began to break once again...like it always does last time. I then began to pray for all my fellow friends who are struggling to maintain their cell groups and zones.

I began to pray for the senior leaders to get a fresh visitation from God and wisdom to lead...etc...

The tears just kept flowing for a good 5minutes as I wailed for God to do something in Bethel.

I think the guys on my left and right would think I was manifesting or guilty of some heinous sin. HAHA! :P

Yup, I really thank God for once again softening my heart to once again feel and really pray for the things that really matter a lot to me.

I recognize that there are so many things that I cannot change; that only God can change, and I must surrender.

Yup, I'll make sure I attend the rest of their prayer meetings man! :)

Fierce Week

My past week (9th - 15th May) was fierce man. Haha. Monday I had my braces appointment so I wasn't in camp. Tuesday I had driving so had half day off.

Then came Wednesday...

I booked in sat on the bed to change to my PT kit when one of the guys in my branch, PTE Khairul, who was the duty admin that day, came and scolded me.

He was in charge of tidying up the place. So when I sat on the bed, it was classified as "untidying" his efforts.

So he angstily said to me "Walau! I clean up already lei. Haven't hand take over sia. Go F*** yourself la!"

I was shocked. He is a nice guy. I'm on good terms with him. So I thought of my course of actions and decided to recommend disciplinary actions against him.

Shall wait for the verdict. He'll probably get extras or late book out or something. Haha.


Then came Thursday...

Early in the morning I received a phone call from LCP Nicholas, an ST (Security Trooper - formerly known as RP)

Upon realising who I was, he went on to insult me and requested to talk to someone reliable, claiming I was unreliable and threatening me if things cock up it was gonna be my fault.

This wasn't the first time. Previously, he called and scolded me "What the F*** are you doing?"

He always thinks cock ups are my fault. Which is simply amusing because in his little world of security at the car park gate, he's trying to pin point a significant fault in a big system. Apparently, his conclusion was erroneous.

Nevertheless, I sent another email to his boss, RSM recommending disciplinary action against him as well.

My boss, a retired major also backed my email up by asking for follow up actions.

Then came Friday...

All was peaceful. I went for my PT regime at the gym and didn't know I was supposed to report back for cool-down and strength accounting.

Why?

1) This was never enforced since I was posted in.

2) I wasn't informed because I didn't turn up for warm up...that's because I went to do my morning business and skipped the warm-up. After which they already dispersed to their respective locations to train.

This time, it was my turn to kena recommended extra...for not following instructions of reporting back after PT regime... -__-"

O well, I explained the whole thing to my boss and he shielded me. Saying he already severely reprimanded me and this will not happen again.

Haha. Thank God for reasonable bosses eh?

And thank God my boss' rank is big enough to fend off all these flaming arrows. Haha.

Most of my men and sergeants in my section was like "Whoa, recommend extra siol Jonavan." One of them even told me "I think you are the first sergeant who recommend extra here."

Is that bad? Haha. My conscience is clear. I never cause or do any harm. I simply do my job and make friends with everyone around me.

I think people think that by me being friendly, they can take advantage of me and not respect me. Well, if you don't respect the respect I give to you as a person, then I shall remove that and give you whatever you're due.

Yup, a really cool, fierce week. Using my rank for the first time.

My Braces Journey: The Rubber Bands

It's been some time since I last journal-ed the "My Braces Journey" saga. Haha. That is because, there was nothing much to talk about, other than the colour change of my braces ties every month. Haha.

Anyway, there has been a major change yesterday during yesterday's visit!

RUBBER BANDS!!

The pain has doubled ever since this visit! It's not really due to the rubber bands I guess but it's due to the tightness of the wire on the top & bottom row of my teeth!!

The stupid rubber band just reduces the angle of opening of my mouth. If I open it too wide, the rubber bands will pull hard at my teeth and it may snap.

During meals, these 2 elastic devils are the greatest impediment to my insertion of food.

But the worst part of having them added to my braces family is...It prevents my tongue from poking into the corners my mouth and removing all the bits of food stuck in the crevices and cracks...HAHA!

Seriously irritating. Oh well, having these rubber bands means I'm halfway through! It's been almost a year since I've donned my teeth armour. Haha.

That however, didn't stop me from having an awesome meal at "Ivin's" at Upper Thomson Road there with Joel & Yang Cheng...The Peranakan cuisine served there is so tasteful that it'll leave you hungry for more. That's partly because of the extremely high MSG input. Haha.

If you're wondering why I'm with Joella & Yang, I went to play LAN with them after my braces medical appointment...Lols.

The original plan was to play LAN with my Heart of God mates - Hong Hwee, Yong An, Wei Hong, Andrew Lau and Grace.

Since there was space for more, I called Joel who was also free. Haha. He then called Yang and we then bonded over a really messy and violent game, L4D2. Haha! Standard ah!

As the 2 hour LAN session unfolded, Hong Hwee fell out and went home, followed by Andrew, then Grace. Only Wei Hong & Yong An stayed throughout. Haha. They were half dead by then too...Lols.

They went home for dinner while me & Joella & Yang went for dinner at Ivin's :D After that, dessert at Ice Cream Chefs nearby...5minute walk away. Lols.

I went entirely off point...from braces to my day. Lols!

Yup, hopefully my next "Braces Journey" post will be about me wearing retainers! :)

Skeptic > Cynic > Rebel

I was summarizing the main points of the book "Faith and Doubt" by John Ortberg recently and suddenly this passage spoke to me...It didn't the first time round.

He talks about how doubt can destroy a person and went to state that there are 3 kinds of doubters:

1) The Skeptic
The skeptic is someone who says “I’m going to suspend judgement. I’m not going to commit myself, because the demand for sufficient evidence has not yet been met.”

2) The Cynic
Unlike skeptics, cynics are not so much looking for answers as they are offering conclusions. They offer conclusions about the world that paint it in an entirely negative light: People can’t be trusted. Circumstances typically get worse.

Give a skeptic a hug and she will doubt you really mean it. Give a cynic a hug, and he will check his wallet to see if you’ve picked his pocket.

3) The Rebel
The third category of mismanaged doubt is sometimes called “unbelief” in the Bible. This is the severest form of doubt gone wrong.

Unbelief is a refusal to trust. It is not uncertainty in the intellect; it is a settled decision of the will.

The rebel is not simply someone who doesn’t believe. He or she is someone who doesn’t want to believe.

Skeptics abstain because they don’t know who to vote for. Cynics abstain because they are suspicious of everybody. Rebels don’t just abstain; they secede to set up their own little dictatorship.

Skeptics question, cynics suspect, rebels defy.

As I typed out these pointers, suddenly, something hit home. I realised that I fell into one of these categories!

I was once a hopeful, a motivational speaker, a leader, a utopia-nist...Until I ran into many incompetent, apathetic leaders in church, awry Christians in the assembly, and uttely self-centred people in the army...

All these began to break my optimism, vision and hope. I guess I didn't guard them properly or I guess I'm just too weak. But I'm picking myself up again...

All these experiences not only hurt me, it made me at first a skeptic.

Now I am a cynic. I unashamedly say it. I have yet to reach the point of being a rebel. But when I do, that won't be nice. It'll take a lot of repenting and re-aligning to God's will and love before I can return to normal.

I guess this transformation isn't all bad. I've learnt a lot through these experiences. But I must not be maimed by them!

I'm healing and beginning to grow again...All thanks to Jesus and the awesome friends that love me enough to stand by me and correct me and take all my nonsense.

Father, this rite of passage I surrender to you. May you take me and make me the man you want me to be :) Amen :)

A moment of epiphany

It's been a looooonnnnnggggg time since I got an epiphany man. My prayer sessions with God have been silent and droning...My Bible reading sessions are just a mere fulfillment of responsibility...well, at least I'm still doing what I'm supposed to do right?

But, I am one person who hates mediocrity and needs to thrive and find purpose in whatever I do! I sure lived out this mantra when I was still actively serving in church...which offended and inspired many complacent brothers and sisters in Christ.

But somehow, God just removed his tangible presence from me. Maybe I moved...But things aren't the way it was and my faithfulness is really being tested now.

This is the wilderness season I'm going through now...If I brace and hold on, I'll reach the Promised Land. If I give up and return to Egypt, I'll just be another loser in mankind's history...another mediocre being who didn't dare to reach out for those things unseen.

Anyway, recently I was just worshiping my dearest Jesus in my bedroom...as usual with my acoustic guitar, seated on my bed with the fan turned on at speed 1, blowing directly at me.

Songs after songs of worship I sang and nothing "hit the spot". So I prayed a bit and told God "Alright, this is it, I'm gonna leave the room already...Let me just end with a song"

This is the part where the whole expected, boring episode took a surprising turn...This song was just dropped in my heart...It's called "I'm Still Yours" by Kutless.

An awesome song...I blogged about this song 2 years ago...Here's the old post...

http://historymakers-jonavanlee.blogspot.com/2009/11/im-still-yours-kutless.html

This song just broke my heart all over again and I began to just sob in God's presence again as He reminded me that no matter what I can do, no matter what I've done, no matter what I've become, I'm still His. His and His alone.

After this song, God dropped in me a brand new song! :) It's been uber long since I wrote songs man...It stopped at around 30 songs for a long time.

Like what I always tell people...In the Old Testament they build altars in remembrance of their encounter with God...Now, I write songs in remembrance of my encounters with God...Ok, I actually don't write them, God gave me the lyrics and the tune.

These are the lyrics to my new song...I have only showed it to a handful of people...to my closer friends and my mentors and to those who bother about my life....Haha. Will do a recording of it soon :D

The song's called "All You Want Me To Do"

ALL YOU WANT ME TO DO
Words & Music by Jonavan Lee
Christian Contemporary (Slow)              Key: C

Verse 1:
JESUS I’M SORRY ‘BOUT THE WAY I’VE
MADE OUR RELATION-SHIP
SO LEGALISTIC
MEASURING IT BY WORKS
WHEN IT’S A-BOUT YOU
FORGIVE ME FOR THE WAY I’VE
DONE THINGS IN CHURCH
NOT CONSIDERING OTHERS
ONLY THINKING ‘BOUT ME
WHEN IT’S A-BOUT YOU

Pre-chorus:
TRYIN’ TO CHANGE THIS
TRYIN’ TO CHANGE THAT
STILL TRYING TO SERVE DOWN THERE
GOTTA IMPROVE THIS, GOTTA GO TWEAK THAT
AND I FORGET

Chorus:
ALL YOU WANT ME TO DO, IS JUST
FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
NOTHIN’ MORE, NOTHIN LESS
NOTHIN ELSE
ALL YOU WANT ME TO DO, IS JUST
SIT AT YOUR FEET
AND ADORE YOU
AND FALL, IN LOVE WITH YOU

Verse 2:
TURN OFF THE STAGE LIGHTS
SHINING UPON ME
IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW WELL
I’VE LEAD THIS WORSHIP SONG
IT’S A-BOUT YOU
IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW WELL
I’VE SHARED THIS SERMON
OR ABOUT HOW WELL
I HAVE LED MY CELL GROUP
IT’S A-BOUT YOU

Bridge:
WHEN I GET UP THERE
WHEN I SEE YOU IN THE AIR
YOU WON’T ASK ME HOW MUCH I HAVE
DONE FOR YOU
YOU WILL ASK ME HOW’S MY WALK
HOW’S MY RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU
HOW MUCH I’VE CHANGED SINCE I’VE KNOWN YOU

Verse 4:
MINISTRY’S NOT PRIMARY
IT’S A BY-PRODUCT OF MY
RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU

(Chorus)

Luke 10:39-42 “39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, 42but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9not by works, so that no-one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Those 3 verses after the songs are the verses that support my lyrics. Haha. I always do that. If my songs are biblical and from God, it should have Bible verses supporting it.

Yup, that was a moment of epiphany for me...More to come God! Right?? :)

Thor!!

Caught the movie "Thor" with Daniel Goh, Yong An, Nicholas and Alastair on a Thursday evening! :)

I met Daniel for follow up before that at church and I showed him the new song I wrote really recently. After that we left for dinner at the Cathay at Popeye's...

Here's the awesome thing. The Popeye waiter was our church member!! Haha! Though we didn't recognise him or rather, sort of recognise his face, he could recognise Daniel's face...HAHA! Because Daniel's the church worship leader! LOLS!

He's called Edbert....If I remember correctly. A really unique name :) Haha.

Here's the best part...We bought 6 bottles of soft drinks which costs $6...But he didn't charge us!! :) Whoo hoo! Haha. I guessed he did that on purpose because we're all church members...Haha. I didn't realise that he didn't charge us until Daniel mentioned it. Lols.

Anyway, it was an awesome time to catch Thor...Why? In the midst of the elections...Thor's hammer is a symbol of unity...His hammer + lightning = Worker's Party (hammer symbol) + People's Action Party (lightning symbol). HAHA!

Anyway, Thor was an awesome movie. It reveals a very human side of all of us...Always trying to prove ourselves worthy...trying to live up to others expectations and impress others.

There we see how Thor and his brother Loki matures from that episode of identity crisis. Strong emotions are evoked as you see how their relationship issues play out.

So yup, Thor is a movie worth catching. And of course, I didn't watch the 3D one. I've watched enough 3D movies to know that the stupid $10 additional charge for the glasses doesn't very much enhance your visual experience...haha. It's a serious waste of money.

Best part, after the show ended...Mark called me and asked me "Just watched Thor at Cathay right?"

I was in the same theatre as Mark & Leslie! HAHA! Both of them plus their groups of friends were also there! What a small world. Haha. I saw them recently anyway, during the Direct Enlistments last just days ago, they also came and I had lunch with them :)

Talking about camp, I also went to school 4 to pass Aaron Cheong (my HoGC mate) an additional non-camera handphone as requested by him as his was gonna go flat. Haha.

There I met up with Xue Ming and went back to Ladang with him in his company's tonner. Haha.

This week was an awesome week. With the award presentations at Selarang, Direct Enlistments, meeting Aaron, meeting Xue Ming, meeting Mark & Leslie, meeting my CG...hopefully this week will be as fun! :)

Stolen

I've posted this on facebook before but I must elaborate how awesome this song is.

This song talks about how God chases and woos our distracted, elusive and wandering heart. When I heard this song, my heart and my whole being just sang and celebrated God's unwavering love for us through the ages.

A really catchy tune with awesome lyrics and a heart-warming theme of God's steadfast love for us.

Well, there are many seasons and in some seasons God keeps silent, some seasons God pours His love out on us extravagantly and in some seasons, He chases after us, wooing us back to His side.

This song best describes the third scenario or possible season. I'm just so glad that God's love for us is boundless and I'm also glad that He created Brandon Heath to write so many awesome songs.

So yup, here's the link with the lyrics.

Stolen

Brandon Heath                                      Key: B

I'm a fugitive
Running from the life that I was meant to live
Looking for somewhere that I can lay my head
I'm lucky if I make it through the night
But I can't sleep
Knowing that You're one more step ahead of me
I'm a fool for ever thinking You'd just let me go
That's not the way it's ever gone before
I'm Yours

You catch me like a thief in the night
You hold me when I put up a fight
You chase me when I run from Your light
Because You love, You won't give up
'Til my heart is stolen
'Til my heart is stolen away

I'm trying to understand that life comes after dying
To embrace that I'm a slave until I'm captured
But You would never use a lock or a key
'Cause I am free

I could change my name, cover all my tracks
But I'm wrong to think I could lose the past
'Cause You found me here and You took me back
Once a criminal, now a prodigal

Yup, do check out his albums...All of his albums have awesome, really personal songs. Hope you've been blessed! :)

PRIDE/WITS Award Ceremony

Today, 3rd May 2011 is a really memorable and prideful day for me. It is a day where I receive the PRIDE (PRoductivity & Innovation in Daily Effort) / WITS (Work Improvement Teams) Bronze Award :D

My project "Improvement to Gangway Design" was awarded the Bronze Medal at Formation Level and bagged a prize of $500...Of course this amount goes to my department's welfare fund and whatever fund...only a trickle of $30 worth of NTUC vouchers was received by me -__-"

O well, it's about the experience and work process right? Haha.

 

My Medal :) Or plug or whatever you call it. haha.

Fresh from the oven...haha

And of course, the award presentation session...Me shaking the Chief of Staff's (COL Toh) hand as he hands me the award :D

Pardon the nervous + retarded smile...Partly due to the camera flash and angle as well. Haha!

 3SG Jonavan shaking COL Toh's hand in receipt of the award :)

Last but not least, a group photo of all the award recipients from the family of 9 Div/Infantry.

All the award recipients...excluding the first row of commanders who are the bosses who approved our projects...haha.

 Take 2 :)

Yup, being a WITS team leader has its rewards after all :)

Lastly, if you have been really observant...COL Toh and myself had one really cool, oral, thing in common...We both wear braces! HAHA! Lols!

Well, I guess mankind's effort in looking good is ceaseless and ageless...

Random pictures

It's been real long since I've honed my guitar skills...Well, the past 2 weeks I spent 10hours (2 hours for each of the day) running my guitar frets, learning solos and jamming with my favourite bands :)

Just felt like a taking a random picture...This is what my setup looks like in my bedroom where I train...Haha.

 Jonavan's Jamming Studio :D

And oh, the laptop is wired to the speakers to the left side of the picture. There I blast my music and blast my guitar and jam with musicians from all over the world. :) haha.

Next random picture I decided to post is this...My laptop desktop wallpaper :) Haha.

Yup, a little pictorial peek into my personal life :) Haha.

Outing with my CG

Labour Day, a day of rest and there I was rushing to my driving lesson.

Guess what? I forgot to bring my driving booklet & PDL (Provisional Driver's License)...which was altogether in my driving file.

I always take half day and head for my driving lessons from camp. So my driving stuffs are always in my sec comd (section commander) bag which I use to book in and out daily.

This time, my lessons are on a public holiday...Which means I use a different bag -__-"

The best part, I have 2 lessons back to back...this means I have 200minutes of lessons!! Without the booklet and PDL, I can only drive in the circuit!

Well, there's a will, there's a way. Thankfully, I had a real nice driving instructor, Mr Farhan who went to seek permission to drive to my place to take my stuff...

Permission granted by his officer! And we were off to my place...haha. Whew! I then had a fruitful 200mins lessons. Maybe I should write in and thank him eh? Haha. See how...Lols!

After my driving lessons, I went to meet with my connect group (CG). My CG is C7, which is made of only the male species -.-" HAHA! But my connect group is under Cell Group 7 (CG7) which has 2 connect groups - C7 (my CG) and C70...the younger guys & girls CG.

Yup, we usually sit together in service and have cell meetings and outings together :D

Off I went to meet them at Fish & Co at the Glasshouse. Before that they met up to play pool. That was when I was still driving...haha.

There at Fish & Co. we celebrated Andrew's birthday! Which is next Monday! :D Haha.

Here's a picture of him...

 Andrew with his birthday sparklers! :)

 Me, Wei Hong, Jon Yuan, Yong An, Andrew, Kai Sheng, Chor Seng & Hong Hwee

Oh and by the way, Kai Sheng is Chor Seng's army friend...who is integrating quite well! Hallelujah! Will be sowing some seeds soon...some real sowing of seeds. Haha.

Thus far, after I brought Chor Seng to Heart of God church, he has brought Serene Chua, Jan, Kai Sheng & another army friend. Awesome evangelism! Ok, it's not evangelism yet...but, awesome job of bringing friends! :D Haha.

I'm glad that even though I've lost much of my flame, others are still burning, more so, my very own poly friend whom I brought to Christ.

Keep it up Chor Seng :)

After our really OILY dinner, we headed to play L4D2 at some LAN shop nearby in Paradiz centre! :) Lots of shouting from me and lotsa fun killing zombies together and killing each other...electronically...Haha!

Yup, had a great time today :)

Hope to see more of such outings man :D

Sherry's Birthday (cont'd)

As usual, there are many camera witnesses to an event. I just found more evidences of my presence there. Haha!

Here's the rest of the unposted pictures:

Me in act cute specs! :D HAHA!

 Vivien Lew, Aaron Leong & Myself, in my natural cuteness :D :)

 My awesome drawing!! :)

I must elaborate on the picture above! We're playing the game (as mentioned in my previous post) "pass on the drawing".

The first person will look at the answer...a word. The person then has like 20seconds to draw it before showing it to the next person to draw...This cycle goes on until the 6th person, who is the guesser.

The guesser, upon seeing the last person's drawing will guess the answer! Fun right?? :D

Anyway, none of the teams got it right, except MINE!! :D My team below!

 

My drawing team! :)

And it's all because of the first draw-er/artist, ME! :D Haha! My depiction of a fan is so well done that the rest could get it and pass it along! HAHAHA!

 Me + Aaron's ukelele, Abigail & Andrina :)

 Sherry's awesome birthday cake! :)

Yup, that should be all the pictures there is already...haha. When's the next birthday celebration??

Lebbillie's birthday!! :) Haha.

Sibling's Baptism @ HoGC :)

24th April 2011, Easter Sunday is the day my siblings made a public declaration of their faith through water baptism in Heart of God Church (HoGC)! :)

The baptism was held at the 9th floor of Singapore Post - a wide open area below the church's auditorium.

That's the first time I was standing below our place of worship! LOLS! A bit more jumping and the whole auditorium will crash down and we'll all be at 9th floor. HAHA!

All of us there waiting for the baptism session to start...

All of us included many of my relatives: Aunty Tracy & Uncle Chee Seng, Aunty Lucy, Aunty Betty, Aunty Mary & Uncle Timothy.

The reason why I put all the Aunty's name first is because...they're all from my mother's side! They're all my mother's siblings. Haha! They all came to support this special event.

So here are the pictures:

Me, Jeravan, Jerina & Mummy :D

They were the 2nd group of people to be baptised! Thank God! If not we have to wait for 50 other people to clear first...Haha.

Here's the picture of them in the baptism pool...

Ps Lia, Jeravan, Jerina, Selina & Ps How

While waiting for them to dry up, we also randomly took pictures. Haha.

 Serene, Shi Ya, Jan, Myself, Hong Hwee & Chor Seng :D

 Take 2

Serene & Jan are our (Me & Chor Seng's) TP juniors :D Chor Seng brought them to church :) Awesome job Chor Seng! :D

 

 Uncle Timothy (Selina's Dad), Aunty Mary (Selina's Mum), Selina, Jerina, Me, Jeravan, My Mum, Jireh, Joy, Aunty Tracy, Engracia, Uncle Chee Seng, Aunty Betty, Aunty Lucy

Yup, that's the whole episode of baptism for them.

The pictures attached here are only half of what was taken...You can go look at my facebook or my mum's facebook account to see all the pictures taken with their church & cell members all :)

Happy Baptism Day! :)