Challenges

In life, challenges are bound to be around. it may be in studies, family, ministry, career and many many more. there are people who rise to the occassion and overcome like a champion, whereas some found themselves in the pit, and worse still choose not to stand up and continue to sink, ending up in misery and depression. When i think through this, i begin to ask myself, which one do i wanna choose to be? and what are the key factors of becoming a strong person?

after living my life for 23 years and 4 years being a christian, i learnt and realised that 2 factors leads to a victorious life: mindset and character.

mindset: a lot of people are wondering, why mindset? mindset translates to your attitude and actions. if you begin to think positively, even when tough times come,the positive thoughts will drive positive attitude and action.

character: your desire and constant stand to do the right things and not wanting to go down easily in defeat. There is a saying that goes: you may have the talent to go to the top, but it is the character that will sustain you.how true is this. i mean, you can be a top student today, but if you have a character issue, the tumbling down on the ground will be a hard one. i have seen top students because of character, have fallen from grace.no wonder the journey is ALWAYS more important than the destination. it is the JOURNEY that builds the character.

I must say i am not the most talented, but really where i am today, i am thankful to God in building me and also sending people in my life to see me grow n develop. of course i am not perfect and my character is still gorwing, but i must say it's a lot stronger than i was not a christian=D Praise the Lord.

At times i do feel for those who just stays down after a defeat or setback. All these people have got a great future and i know that if they choose to face it with courage and belief, they can come out n live a greater life!

SO to all people out there, if you r facing challenges, remember, have faith and belief that YOU can overcome it( we are called to be more than conquerors, Romans 8:37) and look at it as a chance to grow and develop your character!Dun give up just like that!

Let me end of this entry with 2 quotes:
1)what does not kill you can only makes you stronger!
2)A champion is someone who NEVER quits!
Jia you and enjoy growing up!

Update + word of thanks

FInally i have a chance to blog! after a long long while! been really busy in sch, training with TeamNUS and church. simply unbelievable. To be able to still keep on going till today is really by the grace and strength of God. I am thankful for God and the friends around me. the cell grp, the NUS chem people( teck hean, cheng yao, rachael, kar ling, huimin, agnes, seng wee, edwin, bridget, kee wei and others), TeamNUS cross country mates and also my sec sch friends. all of them have always been my driving force and inspration to keep on going. Not easy at times, especially when i get really tired.But i know with God and my friends supporting me, i know for sure i can only get stronger and keep on going.

Some updates from the long long "blog break"
1) I have been quite involved with races with TeamNUS, since my return to training. before my 1st race on 14th feb, suffered a morale drop due to lack of confidence and frustration with my progress (due to IHG soccer i think). have made a decision to fully focus on IVP and my studies n reduced my involvement with cg affairs. though it's gonna be a 2-3 yrs project to train n study, i believe that it will work out for me and gonna make it count, especially this is my LAST competitive HURRAH and what a chance n privilege to do it at varsity level(just 1 level below national level).

2) now staying in NUS hostel (king edward VII hall). so hopefully can better utilise time to study and train.

3)going for my next race on 7th Mar ( akira/swift x-country). Hoping for a good timing(looking at below 18 min 30 sec). the next step to edge closer to my personal best for x-country.

4) Recess week is now over, this is THE season for exams and intensity is building up by the day. every day is a build up to the finals. so needa stay focused for the "war" ahead. It all boils down on who's more focused n ready for the fight.

it's NOW or NEVER!

Thoughts!=D

I read this entry from someone's blog. Very powerful.
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Clearing a lost pathway. (This ain't th title. Story extracted from a book.)

I recently ventured into my front yard to trim back th vastly overgrown hedges. It was hot, muggy Gulf Coast day in th middle of August. (...) But nothing was going to stop me on this day - not even 100 degree heat with 100 percent humidity! I was on a Lewis an Clark expedition. They were commissioned by th government to find a passageway through th overgrown bush to our backyard.

Ever since we had purchased th house several months earlier, I had wondered why th original builders had not put in a sidewalk or path of some kind to link th front yard with th back. I talked to a carpenter about it and he agreed with me. Since th house sits on a sloping hillside, he told me that if I would clear away th overgrown bush and trim back th native azalea bushes, he would build a wooden stairway to connect th two yards.

I thought, Great!

I woke up early that Sunday morning in order to get a jump on th project before heat index hits its peak. By eight O'clock I was drenched in sweat. If Lewis and Clark had been trying to find a passage to th Gulf of Mexico instead of a path to th Pacific, I am pretty sure they would have died of heat exhaustion somewhere in th vicinity of my front yard.
By eleven O'clock great piles of branches, thorns and thistles had accumulated, but still no sight of th backyard. Then at two O'clock, my tree trimmer made a loud scrapping sound. Thinking I had bumped into a rock or a concrete marker of some kind, I pulled back more branches to investigate further. What I saw amazed me. There before me stood a brick retaining wall!

I began to cut frantically along th edges of th wall, and within an hour I uncovered an architecturally designed retaining wall that bordered th entire side yard of th house. By cutting back even more bush, I discovered my "PASSAGEWAY to th Pacific"! For lying hidden under that vegetative rubble was a brick stairway that led down into th backyard.This handsome, long forgotten brickwork has once again become what it was designed to be - a useful pathway that leads from one landscape to th next.-----This is exactly like A forgotten Blessing.

In Jeremiah 6:16 it says, "Thus says the Lord: 'Stand in the ways and see, and ask for th old paths where th good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls'(...)"

Many times we face situations where we wanted it our way. We search for help rather than looking into it ourselves. And at a certain point in life, where all seems to be going well, it happens; BANG! Like as if a heavy load drops out of no where bringing us to our limits. For centuries - people have struggle finding their way, usually of th question of "Why?" on our lips.We ask,Why is it so hard to walk in paths?Why does it take forever to realize a promise?Why did this happen to me? Why is life so miserable?

Genesis 25:22, (...) 'If all is well, why am I like this?'

Have you ever asked this question? "Lord, if all is well, why am I like this? If all is well, why do I still feel th pain of rejection? Why do I feel shame, insecurity and isolation? If all is well, why do I feel this gnawing emptiness and loneliness? If all is well, why am I like this?"Sub-consciously, we are actually block by expectations, our standards. "If all is well, why am I not good enough? If all is well, why don't I feel happiness? Why do I never EVER measure up? Why I ...?" We see that most of th times where we ask why, we've brought ourselves down to looking at things from our own perspective. It's ME, MINE, MY POINT OF VIEW! Everything's about me. It's just an emotional instability that we experience, an experience that is DIRECTLY LINKED TO OUR PAST.

Psalm 13:2,5
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have my sorrow in my heart? (...) But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation.

Everyone experiences pain and hurts. Emotionally, mentally or be it physically; we've been through abuses in our past. Be it verbal abuse of just calling someone stupid, or be it th actions someone did; everyone been through hurt in one way or another.BUT, look at Psalm 13:5, it says "BUT I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation!" It begins in your heart, we got to choose and say 'GOD! I choose to trust YOU! YOU know what I'm going through! YOU know my pains and hurts! YOU know what's hidden! No one else knows, BUT YOU MY LORD! and GOD! now I'm clearing th bushes to find YOU! YOU are my pathway! GOD help me!'And through it all, we know God is there."I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5)God tells us th most valuable possession on earth is our hearts. It begins with th issues in our hearts. Choose to give your problems to God, or let it remain unknowingly hidden behind th bushes? 'Above all else, guard your heart' (Probverbs 4:23)Don't let go of a forgotten blessing, don't stop finding your pathway; Because,It is there. Help is around th corner! Start by clearing up your mess (bushes). And God's just a calling away. Pray!

One way we can do if we lost our spiritual appetite,"If I have lost my spiritual appetite, I open my Bible, repent of laziness, and then with anticipation seek to hear God's voice. I continue to read until something speaks to me! Usually it doesn't take long; as I continue He is always faithful to speak. Read and pray until I am saturated (with a Spirit of willingness to change from old and bad ways)."

Lastly, I end with this."God will not quench th dying ember, but would rather fan it back into flame."Trust in God. In His Unending love!
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As i read this post, God made me a more convicted person with the verse Jer 6:16, like all the more i need to be a cool-headed, calm n composed person, especially when it comes to making decisions n handling people n their issues. Jesus was someone that really personify composure, a cool head n calmness. As i am typing this, i just recalled a story: when He saw a lady prostitute about to be stoned by the religious leaders for adultery, Jesus stepped out n said this in John 8:7-8:
"He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her 1st."
I am like, my goodnes! How come Jesus was so composed, when a woman is about to be stoned? oh my goodness! i can't imagine myself me doing this, especially me being an aggressive fella. if i were to be in that situation, i would just shoot down the religious leaders! wow! wat composure n a cool head in Jesus! This shows 1 thing: if Jesus can do it, I can do it! though today I tried n struggled quite a bit, but it's a good start. probably i am not used to it. At least this is encouraging and i will, by the grace of God strive on to be a cool head n composed person!=D

n thinking abt the rest of the blog, it's also time to expand my mind n see things from God's perspective, coz tat's all it matters and as Heb 13:5 says HE will NEVER FORSAKE OR LEAVE US!


Something to think about: If you think u need a qualificattion to be a child of God, i wanna say this: God does not committ to talent n qualifications, but character n a heart that wanna follow Him. coz in Matt He has called us to Follow Him and HE will lead us into an exciting journey of faith n growth!=D

NO LONGER I, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME! I KNOW 2009 is gonna be a bumper year! JIA YOU TO ALL READERS!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ENJOY THE JOURNEY!=D