Valorous Halcyon

I don't even know where to start. If I were to list out things I fear, events or objects or people who I fear, I simply have no clue on the numbers. I have lost count. But I, along with other cell members, were asked this question by our cell leader yesterday during my church's cell group meeting. I kept quiet the whole time, didn't know what to say because I have too many fears. But I have been thinking. Fears can be categorised into a four main types: controllable and uncontrollable external, controllable and uncontrollable internal . But even fears that were controllable would seem uncontrollable in times of encountering it. For instance, I feared of lizard and I would have only one thought in mind: RUN! Some people are afraid of cockroaches, especially ladies. I used to be scared of cockroaches but after a few times of killing roaches operations with smashing skill acquired from playing badminton, I've learned to overcome it. These are the examples of con...

Yesterday I attended a crash course organised by my church on "The Art Of Hearing God" by Greg Abel. A little Googling told me Greg Abel is the current CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, one of the two most likely successor of Berkhire Hathaway, the next Oracle of Omaha after Warren Buffett. But no, not that Greg Abel. This Greg Abel is a man of God with a big vision and mission to spread what he has learnt over the years, on the Art of Hearing God (I will get to it shortly why is it an Art, not Science). So here is a short summary of my findings through the first part: God wants us to speak to Him, even if He already knew everything in us (our mind and thoughts, our desires, our circumstances).  God demands our attention and the same intimacy that you will give to your spouse. He is also very talkative.  He speaks all the time. If there is one major hindrance that stops us from solving every world problem, it is language. We communicate through the fast growing Intern...

It was some time in late March 2014. I had been weeping and weeping, for one whole month. Even in my own quiet room, I wept into sleep for countless nights. The sense of sorrow and loss was so strong I could hardly withstand. I wish I could end my life right there and then. There was no more five-hours Skype sessions every day, no more movie nights on Friday and Saturday. My flatmates could barely hear my cry because I cried silently. We have broken up for almost two months now. She was my first girlfriend. For some reasons we decided to put an end into this long distance relationship. I never really blamed her because of her indecisiveness, but the feeling of loss was real. I was upset and disappointed. Whenever  Awaken the Dawn by Stanton Lanier was being played on Spotify, my tears rolled down involuntarily. Yet I loved replaying the song. I did not want to move on. I was living in the past. The two months of sweetness and love. I drifted far away from God. Whatever He was...

Half a year ago I heard of a story from my friend which was both very impressive and inspiring. She only had two months to go before finishing her study in the UK. Retrospectively what I did during my last two months in the UK was travelling. I went to Spain in June for 10 days, and then my family came and joined me for my graduation and subsequently my graduation trip in Switzerland and Scotland spanning for the next 12 days. Not her. I met this girl briefly during one of the church meetings I went to randomly in Bristol some time in mid-April following Pastor Dave and Kat, few weeks before the start of my final year exam. But she has been such a great encouragement and inspiration ever since. She was a psychology student, so fortunately for her, her exams were well-spread over the whole academic year, unlike the majority of university students' exams stack right at the end of the academic year. So what's so special about her? Despite preparing for upcoming papers, she...

I just turned into a young adult not very long ago. Although some people may disagree with me and still see me as a child and of different generation. I remember just a few years ago, all I wished was to grow up faster. I was impatient and wanted everything to happen fast. I wanted to finish college quickly and start working. I wanted a girlfriend and I was hoping the one girlfriend will eventually become my wife. I was dreaming of starting a small family of my own. I wanted a fast car and I still do! I thought I knew it all and had all it takes to be an adult. I became arrogant of my own little achievements, not realising how insignificant I was at that time. Or was I right? I was plain naive.   Just this morning I bumped into this poll set up by one of the bloggers I was following and it goes: Would you rather travel back to the past, or to the future? Future.  That was my first response. But having contemplated a little, I chose Past . Wait, hang on a minute, ...

This post is written with a heavy heart. In just a couple of days, few people around me passed away. A manager in my department who had been battling with blood cancer courageously had put on a good fight. My cell group leader's dad passed away. My friend's teacher also passed away. Another friend's primary schoolmate's mom also just passed away. On the side note, my favourite football team Arsenal also lost to a weaker Greek side, Olympiacos 2-3 AT HOME, thus killing any real chance of qualifying out of group stage for Champions League this year (since the next two games are up against the Almighty Bayern Munich who have just trashed Dinamo Zagreb by 5-0). All in sudden, I am again reminded that life is too short. Too short to be sad and depressed. Too short to be frustrated and hold grudge against someone you have conflict with, or someone who has wronged you. Two days ago I've read about this from "Seven Things That Steal Your Joy" by Joyce Mey...

Yesterday marked my 23rd birthday! While I could not quite put all my thoughts into words, I will try my best. If you have been following this blog for the past few weeks, I hope you will have noticed the increasing efforts I have put in to continue updating the blog. I have made this a commitment that I will update this blog at least once every two days, sometimes even more. This change, coupled with exercising every morning and reading every night after work, compose part of my transition process into the working life. This is the power of Habit! But I was trying to break one of it. The night before when my mom asked me on the time to wake up yesterday morning (since she's currently car pooling with me to work), I told her, "Early (it means we will depart from our house by 6:15am)". Understandbly she did not seem happy because then she will need to wake up early at as early as 5:30am. But because of my laziness and I was trying to give myself a break, I decided not to...

So yesterday and the night before I went to the World Changers Conference organised by my church (Acts Church) at Summit USJ 4th floor, and now I am a World Changer haha! Okay so the speaker of the conference is someone whom I have had never heard of, David Tjokrorahardjo. David what?! Don't worry, the name at the back was so hard to spell even, it took me literally one full minute to get it right haha! Unbeknownst to me, he is one of the managing principals of Sovereign Capital with its HQ based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Sovereign Capital is basically a private equity fund focuses mainly on early growth-stage companies with $1-10 million in revenue. But Sovereign Capital is not just an ordinary private equity fund, due to the fact that they not only focus on profitability of the companies, but also proven management team that is running the company based on STRONG ETHICAL VALUES. Wow!   While I am not going to bore you with everything he said during the conference, there are a...

This is the first part of a book I am currently reading (Seven Things That Steal Your Joy by Joyce Meyer) thanks to the recommendation given by my dear friend. As an author and one of the most recognised pastors, she did not grow up in a Christian family but rather like Oprah Winfrey, grew up in an abusive family. Expectantly she has gone through many sufferings and challenges, things that easily took away joy from her life. But over the years of experience, she has came out victoriously and can be joyful anywhere she goes, in whatever circumstances. How did she do that? Today I am going to review the first chapter of the book, on the first Joy Stealer. How often do you find yourself trying multiple attempts yet fail again and again? I did! Fortunately for me, it did not normally take me long to get the result I desired after second or third attempts. In the book, J. Meyer said that so often people rely on their own strengths, trying to change things around them and not relying on Go...

Very unsuspicious. Daniel hopped on the front of Jed's car along with another four of us at the back (hahaha I know... it was tad bit crowded!), and we started heading off to our predetermined lunch destination. After weeks of having Chinese dai-chao (大炒) for lunch, Daniel requested for a change asking for Siew-yok (烧肉) this time round and we were all more than happy to oblige! Just look at the dishes and tell me you are not tempted! Hahaha I bet you are, and indeed they were pretty scrumptious too! Anyway, after Ian and the rest arrived from another car and finished their meals earlier (as they were sitting at a separate table), the show began! Thanks to Ian's natural entertaining prowess, all of us started to burst into laughter, alongside with all of us singing birthday song to the birthday boy who just turned 24 a few days ago. Here are some of the pictures and you will understand why... absolutely creative idea of making a "mini model" of Audi R8 by us...

Dear readers, It has come to my realisation that time is flying pass fairly quickly and ... It's sad to say I have only less than 6 months left before heading back home. How did that even happened?! Amidst all the busyness from courseworks, class tests, online tests bla bla bla... it just happened! Many things have happened in between too, but with the grace of God, He brought me out of all sorts of troubles. Each and every single time! Financial difficulties in particular this year, but I have emerged victorious. How great is the God I am serving, eh? This is a great testimony on its own which I will share next time.  Today is Easter Day, but what's special about Easter? This is the day for us to remember God's unconditional and unwavering love for each and everyone of us, believers and non-believers. We stand equal chance in the eyes of God. God chose us, not that we choose God. Even after my baptism two years ago at Equippers, I sometimes backslid-ed with all sor...

Hey guys, thanks for dropping by my blog! As you might have noticed, it has been more than 2 months since my last post! Sorry for letting this blog to rot pathetically, but here is the revival! So obvious that I wasn't achieving one of my new year resolutions (post a blog entry at least once per month). Ops! Anyway, please be acknowledged this post is going to be long, so please leave now if you're busy, otherwise you are welcomed to read it some other time. Yesterday marked by far the most important day of my life! 12/03/2013. The date that I would remember for the rest of my life, the date that is so significant I couldn't bear to forget, the date that I got dunked into the water, signifying the death of the old self and the reborn of the new self, with a brand new flashy identity in Christ. Yes I have been baptised, with a grateful heart to my Lord Jesus Christ, and Equippers Church London City, the church that I have rooted in. Together being baptised with me wer...

Hey people! It's been a few days since my last update so yes, I'm going to update myself! But if you were busy, you may skip through the first 3 paragraphs and go straight to the sermon! Remember I was having trouble with my accommodation in London? I was contemplating whether to take up Sir John Cass Hall or Liberty Hall, in which I eventually settled down on Liberty Hall. The rushing of deadline for online payment (to secure the room) was stressful particularly when I had only a few days left before the deadline (24th of August). I kept myself busy dealing with emails from Liberty Hall Management and City University. Also, since the money involved are huge in amount (everything is in GBP), paying such amount is not possible with debit or credit card due to the exchange control policy imposed by the Central Bank since the 1997 South East Asian Currency Crisis, to circumvent speculation from international currency traders. Apparently the only viable way is via bank transfer...