hello.

yes of course first of all i wanna thank the bulk of you for your birthday wishes, through face to face, the phone or via facebook(78 wishes on facebook wow). you guys really made the day any less ordinary and a.. birthday! so yes, thanks alot folks.

20 yeah shawn, the prime of our lives opens with this day..



okay actually the main point of this post is,


the new desperation band album; Light Up The World is very well written!! its quite amazing how every song actually seems to get me hooked, be it through the lyrics, melody or style of writing. they sound really different from hillsong though, and the songs weren't like exactly congregational pnw kind, but more like individual songs depicting a certain message/theme if i may? and imho they really brought the ambience element into christian songs to a whole new level. lots of layering and it seems like every single song the Jon Egan's mic has a permanent mix of reverb and subtle analog delay, sorta feels like you're drifting through God's presence in the song.

here's one of their singles..



GO GET IT NOW!!

funny how on sat i was telling myself that im gonna focus and meditate on an aspect of God each day from that day onwards. i choose 'patience' for sunday, and sort of forgot about it today. i guess God doesnt put an expiration date to these promises.

such an eventful day today, though it didnt start off well. my dad and bro had a really big argument this morning, and you know dads, always go off and making it everyone elses problem.

went for men's conference after though. i must say im really glad i managed to make it. talked alot about the common problems men faces, and how we can address them. you know stuff which you wont usually share infront of sisters. yup seriously learnt quite abit and i must say the organising committee for the even did it quite well.

oh yeah and guess who was there, mingling amongst us and trying to get as many phone numbers as possible...?? PETER! remember that gay guy who once approached me and subsequently harrassed alot of other church brothers? you know that flyer guy working at somerset/orchard area!? okay incase u dont remember go read Oct 29, 2006. yeah i saw him at the reception while we were splitting into the different groups, being a little too "over-friendly" with some of the tertiary brothers, and a little too "touchy" at times. and then i saw him make his move and got a couple of phone numbers. guys by any chance if he approached you and you are reading this, pls dont pick up his calls!! unless of course u want a very traumatising once-in-a-liftime experience of entertaining a gay over the phone describing very explicit erm.. okay you know what, just dont pick up his calls. dont even know how he knew we were having men's conference today, probably got the info off some innocent dude on the way to church.

okay i really didnt know what to do, i mean u dont just chase people out of church right? and its not like SAF where there's RPs to do all such bouncer jobs. besides, maybe he really is here because of part of God's awesome design to speak into his life? and yeah he actually sat through the summary about lust and temptation lol. but i doubt that's as such, considering him keep trying to hit on the other guys after service.

went to play the 3rd and 4th placing at hpl after that. to be honest i was quite reluctant to go down, considering the late night pracs for vision night the past few evenings as well as two sessions of street soccer the past 4 days, and also since davin lost the bet that i would go down if man city won man united last night(awesome game btw). but okay, i went anyhow..

so the game started, i sub-ed in as the left back(hate playing backs seriously have no clue how to). and that's when trouble started. okay i intercepted a cross, got the ball, then cleared it forward. apparently this other guy on my team, thought i should have passed(to him?) instead and started shouting and hurling vulgarities at me. so i told him to chill it.. okay but maybe it sounded more like "dude what's your problem? must you speak like that!?" and then more vulgarities and from me a "dude, you better watch your mouth."

so i really got quite irritated/pissed with the certain someone. as i subed out he went "shawn, you wait; we'll settle this later!" anyway, cut the long story short, he confront me after and even threw his shirt at my face. i had very negative thoughts going through my mind and almost went after him in a fit of anger, and maybe would have if the others didnt come between us. but yeah i proud to say i didnt.

i heard after that that he kinda left church already and all so yeah.. im actually glad nothing further happened, cause i was quite sure if this was the past things would have been rather different. well at least my conscience is clear i suppose. fight free since 03 right(take that ted mosby lol). afterall, a certain baboon woman(hehe) once mentioned how ugly people get when they just get too focus on winning that they get into fights and all. and since im awesome i cant become ugly can i? haha. right.. i think i too home more from the soccer match than a 3rd place trophy today.

anyway, it was raining so heavily by the time i reached my house bus-stop. called home to see if my mom could bring an umbrella down for me, but my sis answered saying my mom was out. so i asked my sis to bring down an umbrella for me. she so very sweetly agreed without a moment of hesitation even though it was really pouring cats and dogs, and mind you the bus-stop is still quite a walk from my condo. and so there i was waiting while i spotted a little figure appear in the rain down the pathway, under the refuge of an open umbrella as well as struggling to hold another opened one in her hand. haha apparently she thinks its easier managing with two open umbrellas rather than one.

haha sis you're awesome really, turn my day sunny-side up in an instant. just dont keep pestering me to play Disney Monopoly with you, im just really sick of it..

long and eventful day, but i feel really blessed to be honest. cant stop counting it, esp today.

to be honest i was really quite pissed with my sis today. her little decision to take 1 hr just to eat a bowl of noodles(and she didnt even finish it) kinda screwed up my plans for the day, as i went down to wait for her so that she could have her choir practice and then send her back to my aunt's place at yishun.

nevermind about that. though i did feel quite bad when i scolded her, nearly bringing her to tears. i was talking to her on the bus on the journey to the condo. i remember asking her why does she wanna be a christian, partly to see what goes on through the mind of a 11 yr old when she makes such a decision, and partly to find out the reason behind her faith.

i guess all of us have different reasons on why we choose to serve God, why we go to church. some maybe fellowship, a sense of purpose, a grateful heart, or even maybe a free morning on sundays. i duno what your reason is, but i found mine some time ago during one of the QT nights. though many a times we challenge that reason, be it with the 'could haves' and 'what ifs', but each time looking at the 'what has been' i am fully convinced and sort of glad in a way only i probably understand.

had a good talk with bruce over dinner just now. haha thank God he stays so awesomely near to me, finding company for a meal is just 8 digits and 15 mins away. we shared about our own experiences with God and some decisions that were made, and shared our own reason. i was very encouraged to hear his story, and really questioned if i would have done the same if i were in his situation. i think maybe God let me have it easy. haha i duno.

and as i sat beside my sis on the bus to my aunt's place, hearing her share about why she wants to go to church now, it kinda all made sense for me. it made the many CGs i had to miss to take her to service, the missed plans, the rainy sunday morning sleep-ins, and the weaknesses that we have to endure of each other, all worth it.

i'm sure glad i found my reason.

You come like You promised You would
I want to surrender for good
I know that i need You
And i don't want to keep living life alone

So take my heart
and make it new
make it true
And make it like You
Take my hands
I lift them high
They're Yours not mine to do
Do what You will

I feel like a blind man in You sight
I know that i'm wicked in Your eyes
So wash me and make me shine like the sun
I want to tell everyone
that You're the only one

So take my heart
And make it new
Make it true
And make it like You
Take my hands
I lift them high
They're Yours not mine to do
Do what You will

I'm ready now
I'm ready now
I'm ready now
Do what You will