Biblical Dating: Just Friends - http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001475.cfm

Biblical Dating: Are You Ready to Date? - http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001449.cfm

Brother, You're Like a Six - http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001371.cfm

BA: Stuck in the "Just Friends" Zone - http://www.boundless.org/2005/answers/a0001464.cfm

Sermon - Cultivating Healthy Marriage - http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/cultivating-healthy-marriage

articles that a christian brother in SMU shared to me... it has been very helpful for me, and I hope it will be for you too...

God is good... all the time...

AF video... (:

I am in class now, just marking class participation, so I'm rather free to surf the net...

I was looking at my past posts, and I realize that I haven't been posting many of new spiritual insights that I have... guess I'm getting a bit too busy...

Yes, I finally see that I'm living in the expectations of others... not God... Am I living my life as though God is watching, or as though man around me are watching...

I realize that our life is and always will be subjected to scrutiny or observation from others. Our friends, our superiors, our mentors, our brothers, our sisters...

I believe our testimony is very important, and many around me think so too, that is why this "being a salt & light for God" thing is commonly heard in our church. I believe if we try our best to fix our eyes on God, and allow Him to mould our lives slowly, crawl out from our residual comfort zones, we will 'survive the scrutiny'.

" Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

Romans 5: 1-6

My friend asked me yesterday, "What do you mean when you say that everything happens for a reason?"

Another asked, "If God has a plan for your life, doesn't it mean that we are just robots, executing his plan?"

I believe 2 rules of thumb can help address these queries:

1. God is 100% sovereign
2. Man are 100% free and responsible

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, both occur at the same time. Much like how Light has both wave-like properties as well as particle properties, some things are difficult to comprehend, but if you want to assume light ONLY has wave-like properties, then your theory cannot explain its particle-like properties.

I believe Man are still 100% responsible of each choice they make, but God, in His infinite wisdom and power, is sovereign over all that occurs.

Everything happens and happened for a reason... and sometimes we just need time to appreciate God's guidance through the things that have happened...

Not interpreting things just from our limited view, but seeing things from God's perspective.

God's grace is over-whelming...

It is humbling to see how God is so willing to bless and give to us, and especially meaningful when we try our best to walk in the will of God and live out His love and principles...

I've tried hard to Seek first His Kingdom... and God has given me many things in which I am certain He has great plans for in the future. This has been the best birthday gift for me, and I really appreciate and thank God for His unfailing love and incomprehensible blessings...

2009 has been a tough year, especially the past 6 months... but I've really grown a lot in many facets, and pray that I'll continue to be able to do so...

Thank God for the Myanmar trip! It was very fruitful, and albeit the many challenges faced, overall it was a fun and meaningful trip. Many things left to resolve, and I just pray that God will give me strength to do so in the right time (:

"Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt[a] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." ~ James 3

What a nice passage! Rid me of my selfish ambitions Lord! And teach me to control my tongue...

I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought
"Hey, you know, this could be something"
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing

'Cause maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one

I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes
The way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believing

That maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
[ Boys Like Girls Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
Yeah, yeah

I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought, "Hey,"



Maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
And you thought that it got me coming undone
And I'm thinking
I can't live without you
'Cause, baby, two is better than one
There's so much time
To figure out the rest of my life
But I'll figure it out
When it's all said and done
Two is better than one
Two is better than one