Are u ready?

Updated as promised! after skin shedding season! its updating season! (i think i'm last on the list..)
still can't get that e blogger thing of the top! lol..but someone helping me get new skin rite? lol!

to those who update their blogs regularly Good on ya mates!! (Fake Aussie Accent haha..)
Some challenging and encouraging blogs include, Romans' Peng siang's and Amy's (the links are on the right)
Thats what i hope to do on mine as well.

Sometime this week,Romans shared with me that he had a dream about judgement day and how he was brought to a room full of TV"s and his whole life was about to be flashed on the screens. (Like matrix haha..)
A fren that stayed over just yesterday was memorising a verse during her QT and it was about Christ's coming! guess wat??
Today during service, pastor preached about Christ coming also!

This reminded me of something that me and some others often say "Jesus faster come! " (If u find yourself grining or smiling, we might have said that to each other sometime or another ahahahhaha!!)
But then are you sure you would really be ready if christ came the next moment?

I was sharing with Peng siang a few days ago, about how i found being a Christian even harder here in OZ land
when we try to share the gospel, its nothing new to them, people would just tell you nicely that they don't need it.
Some think that they know a lot about Christianity coz they live in the "city of churches".
Another group of people would think that they do not need religion because they are happy within themselves.

I guess that is because they do not live life with an eternal perspective.
people think that as long as i live my life happily now can liao. We have been made to last eternally. we might live for the most 80-100 years (By God's grace) on this earth. Its a super short time, compared to forever.
the next question would be what are u going to do for the rest of eternity?

I've heard some Christians saying "are we seriously gonna like sing songs, read the word and worship God forever? aiyo very boring siah.."
For me, i thought about what would happen when i see Christ again. I can only imagine that when i finally see Jesus again, i wouldn't have to say anything and he would understand everything that i went through.i would just be in his presence singing and being with him forever!! yeah!! Thats really something to look forward to.

but..have i been living my life the way that is pleasing to him? how about in reaching out to others?
Am i proclaiming the gospel or ashamed of it?

For those of us that are christians, how does finally meeting Jesus face to face and worshipping God forever in heaven sound to u?

I hope you're just as excited as me :)

Ladies and Gentlemen! School is officially open for me!!

HOw exciting! (Self psychoing...learn from sherm hahaha...)
Actually its not really self psychoing but rather looking at it from a different perspective.
Praise the Lord that he has brought me through 1 semester , it has been and will continue to be a tough journey.

Many people say that "studying overseas? easy one la..." i beg to differ.
but maybe it just me? the assignments seem more difficult and lectures difficult to understand (not taking into account the lecturer's accent haha..). have to handle people to people relationships. SOmtimes i just wonder how i'm going to get through it.

However in the midst of these situations, God grace , mercy and faithfulness continue to be evident. I really cannot do it on my own and began to depend on him more.

In learning to handle different situations and emotions, God revealed how flawed i am.
I used to think that i was "ok". Able to handle emotions well..it just went all downhill when i came here..haha..

This statement from Rick warren struck me a lot. "God is interested in building your character and not making you comfortable" (Rick Warren, 2006)

I'm definitely not comfortable at this moment.
Pray with me that the Lord would continue to work in and through me for his purposes.
and that i would face each day with Joy!

Look to the horizon. Its antartica already!
For more pics go to www.sarahang.shutterfly.com

View from Granite Island 

On a rock on granite island 

Victor Harbour

JUst got back from victor harbour.
Had a fabulous time taking in the sights and the fresh air!

had been talking about going there for about 1 month now and finally we got to!
Was suppose to get there in 3 hours but sammi taking advantage of the no speed limit at the hills brought us there in 1 hour 40 mins. Goodness...

Had the role of backseat driver (literally) . We all thought that it was gonna be a long ride and packed 2 bagfuls of snacks and fruits. IN the end we didn't eat any. loL!

i brought my laptop along coz the map of victor harbour was inside and ended up getting a hard copy there and lugging my laptop and a super thick jacket around.

We suddenly went into a photo taking frenzy coz then scenery was just spectacular.
I can't even put into words the grandeur of God's creation!

I was at this place called Granite island and when we look out many many KM away is antartica already, coz its like the end of australia liao. (aiyo i think my engrish getting worse.)

We then proceeded to this place called Freemans Nob to whale watch! there were a few sightings of Southern right Whales this morning and we were encouraged to go see. But then we went there ...almost froze to death and all we saw were crashing waves. no doubt Still a beautiful sight! the whales prob knew i was coming and went home already. loL!

Super tired now..from all the zi lian photography and walking around lugging the laptop.

Till then

COLD!!

Freezing!!!!!! and i've a blocked nose..loL!

Been busy bringing my parents around..
the past few days have been going shopping and i actually can find clothes that are my size!! yes!! lol...

We went to barossa Valley yesterday and i just realised that it had not only 1 vineyard but many many!! but it was kinda sad coz its winter and the vines were all botak!! haha...
In the 1800s, land and soil surveyors were called in by the english settlers to survey what can be done on the adelaide land. The result was that given the dry weather conditions and the state of the soil. IT was good for growing vines and making wine. So the settlers brought in vine shoots from original wine making countries like South africa and france to plant! and the wine industry boomed since then. The winery that i went to bottled about 1 million bottles a day, to be shipped out to about 70 countries..
I tasted a few kinds of wine , stayed sober and bought a nice wine glass!

Most of the trip was spent in the coach going through the beautiful Adelaide hills.
I can't help but see God's hand in all of it! Praise him!
Went past some herds of cows and sheeps and kangaroos. the bus driver purposely honked the horn to make them run! it was hilarious!!

NExt we went to a small german village called Hahndorf..Did u know that in the 1800s the german lutherans were persecuted for their faith and quite a number of them escaped to adelaide and now their descendants are living in that village! there are lutheran churches everywhere! so cooL!

it was also the first time i ate kangaroo meat...............in my opinion it tasted better then beef, but mum and dad thought otherwise..loL!

Got 1 more week before sch starts..and mum and dad are leaving on saturday..boohoo...........
then it will be back to learning and stressing...loL!
its gonna be tough but I WILL to praise God in every circumstance!!

peace out?? no way ahhahahh!

Peace be with you:)

Living beyond myself

Finally updated! HAve been busy with exams...but finally i'm free!!!trying to enjoy as much as i can before school starts again! lol..My housemates and i are jamming daily on the guitar...laughing crazily and getting bored together wahahahahh!

However, in my time here, i have been able to reflect a lot on my life and attitude as a christian.I listened to a podcast by JOhn Macarthur about qualities of an excellent servant , something that struck me a lot was the pursuit of a life of Godliness.

Somtimes even Christians can found to be pursuing recognition by others, pursuing to be highly educated, pursuing wealth without even realising it..Godliness is doing things that are rite before God and that which honours him.
Its not gonna be easy going against the flow of the world, sometimes it can even mean going against Family and good friends.

Am i willing to do that to do wat is rite in the Lord's eyes even if it means hostility from others?

We should not live for the present but always have an eternal perspective.We discipline ourselves for the purpose of Godliness , for it holds promise for the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:6-8) and for this reason we Labour and strive, cause we have put our hope on the Living God! (V9-10).

Although we may be really involved in church stuff but take a moment to think.
what are you really pursuing?

You are not too young to start thinking about that.

What keeps me in perspective is knowing that this life is not mine.
Live beyond yourself coz we are created for our creator!

Everything to me

Sherm sent me this song by Avalon called everything to me..

Beautiful song that i can really relate too.. here are the lyrics
have uploaded it on stickam just on the left of this page if anyone wants to hear. click on the green musical note :)

Avalon-Everything to me

i grew up in sunday school
I memorized the Golden rule
And how Jesus came to set the sinner free
I know the story inside out
I can tell you all aboutThe path that led Him up to Calvary
But ask me why He loves me
And I don't know what to say
But i'll never be the same
Because he changed my life when He became...

Everything to me
He's more than a story
more than words on a page of history
He's the air that I breath
The water I thirst for
And the ground beneath my feet
He's everything, everything to me

We're living in uncertain times
And more and more I find that i'm awareOf just how fragile life can be
I want to tell the world I found A love that turned my life around
They need to know that they can taste and see
Now everyday I'm praying Just to give my heart away
I want live for Jesus
So that someone else might see that he is...

Everything to me
He's more than a storymore than words on a page of history
He's the air that I breath
The water I thirst for
And the ground beneath my feet
He's everything
And looking back over my life at the end
I'll go to meet you saying you've been...

What's on your mind?

There are 2 things that occupied my mind for quite some time

Worry scared Worry scared..

I got really paranoid and was quite down for a few days...what if i don't make it...
Shared with a few people about it and thank God for their encouraging words and prayers!

But i once again questioned myself..
What happened to all the Talk about depending and trusting in the Lord?

Sometimes i think we forgot that the God we believe and serve is so much bigger then our problems. and we actually cast doubt on whether GOd will bring us through the situation.

Yes he will bring you through it but the process and the end result may not be what we expect. But what the Lord desires.

Are we then able to subject ourselves to moulding by the Lord?
Or do we always choose the easy way out of giving up and say "i don't care anymore"

Frankly speaking that thought often went through my mind .

But the Lord once again reminded me that i said in the beginnning i wanted to be subject to his will. backing out now?

No i will not back out, because i love the Lord and want to do his will.
When the going get tough I Will to keep praise on my lips as david did (PSalm 40).

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear him and will trust in the Lord (Psalm 40:3)

Praise Be to the Lord my strength and my SOng!

Straight from the heart..

Do you have a contractual relationship or a convenantal relationship with the Lord?

Pastor questioned us on sunday. The immediate response in my mind was OF COURSE a covenantal one.

Contractual relationship is one which is bound by duty and obligation. Its because i have to, therefore i do it.

Covenantal relationship however is one that is bound by LOVE for the Lord.

1 goal that i have set for myself before i got here was that i want to spend more time with the Lord. That includes doing regular QT , praying , simply just talking to the Lord. Involving the Lord in all aspects of my life.
Sadly i wasn't regular in doing QT and have made sure that i do it first thing in the morning.
That has been going great and i have been doing that for the past 2 weeks.

The only thing is that i've been doing it coz i have to, because its the right thing to do. ..
but thats not what God wants..

Can u imagine yourself loving this person so much and in the end all that the person is doing for you is out of duty and obligation and not because he/she loves u?
I think i would be like sad man.

That really set me thinking of the motivation behind what i do. Do i serve , read his word, encourage fellow christians because i have to? Or do i do it because i love the Lord?

Contractual or Covenantal?

It should come straight from the heart.

DOing Law Lor!

OK! thats prob what most people heard from me the past week. I just finished My law journal and STILL have a law test to study for..how lawful can i get..loL!

Soon i'll have to start on my 2500 words LAW research assignment. 50% siah...ahhhhhhhhhh! just needed to shout for a bit. I shall try to enjoy doing it. Uni has been a great experience so far. No more nice poly lecturers that i can go look for at anytime. Now, i've to make an appointment if i wanna see the lecturer and most of the time, it has to be made a few days before lol..can u believe it?? All the lecturers are either PHD holders or degree holders working on a masters! with all that studying and researching how can one not go crazy???

I know the JC ppl are not having an easy time either..all the PW's and the countless tests. Lets all Jia you together!! I'll be praying that the Lord grant us perseverance and joy as we do it!

The days are getting shorter now..winter is approaching and the sky gets dark at like 6pm. so sad...i love the SUN!! The weather is getting colder too BUT dun scared i have an electric blanket!! and no i won't get electrocuted by it..prayerfully..loL! I kinda turn it on half an hour before going to bed and the bed gets nice and warm! how cool...

ok i'm off to school now..got lecture from 6 to 8pm...will share with u guys what i learnt the last month soon. So stay tuned!!

Good friday...Easter!!! So?

Good Friday can just come and go every year and i'll just do the routine , go church for service hear Christ's Journey to the cross over and over again. then maybe cry, tear..

I took up the courage to watch Passion of the christ , i was too afraid previously because of all the gore and pain. But i eventually did..Went through looking at all the whipping and nailing..teared again..

The Lord brought to mind things similar responses from me, after service, TEAR, after watching how christ died, TEAR again. He then questioned me , so what happens after all these?Do i just get extra grateful and appreciative during Good friday and easter?

After that i still live my life the same way?

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
(Romans 6:5-7)

As i thought about these verses, what does it mean to be united in his death? I learnt that it means our sin cannot be suppressed , restrained or counteracted, BUT instead it must be crucified. Many times we sin and then say Lord Forgive me..and after a while when it cannot be suppressed any longer we let it surface and sin again and Ask God to forgive AGAin. ARen't we taking him for granted? A decision must be made to let sin die in us!

As we are united in his death, we are too united in his ressurrection!

The proof that we've been crucified with Christ is when we have a definite likeness to him!

and IF we say we are united in his ressurrection, this ressurrection will exhibit itself through holiness, in every area of our life. I find myself lacking in this aspect

i can put in a lot of effort in studying the bible but not the same amount of effort is put in to my school work. Why the contradiction?

In the same way we can be holy in our behaviour in front of others, but how bout our attitude towards parents and teachers and the way we do our school work? Does it show that Christ likeness?

As we make an effort to live holy lives with God's help, let us do it also with joy!

Eg. When Paul and Silas were called upon to suffer, they sang praises to God and everyone around them could hear their joy, despite their discouraging circumstances (Acts 16:25).

It means that even in the midst of difficulty and adversity we are still happy because we know we're in a RIGHT relationship with God. Despite our stupidity and sinfulness and unworthiness the Lord in his mercy has saved us! Isn't that worth being Happy about??

For me it is great to know the truth! PRaise the Lord!

How bout u?

Perculiar.............

Today is the start of Mid term break!! it will go on for 2 weeks!! hooray!
actually not really hooray coz i've got 2 group assignments and 1 journal to do sars!!
Its really not easy..Please pray that i will persevere..had some disappointments regarding school work but i shall pick myself up and continue on!! the Lord is good and granted me frens to encourage me!

Fun fact of Adelaide - There's a shop selling ONLY honey just across the street and they can survive leh! The advertisement outside the shop says : We sell all kinds of Honey $7.00/per KG. Please bring your own container.
whahahahahah! so interesting! My housemates and i were like, wah got ppl come and buy one meh? then 1 day when we had to go to school early like 8 plus.. we saw people acutally driving all the way there to buy leh!! and its not like 1 or 2 people..it was like a continous flow of cars parking and then going in to buy...i can't believe it..loL! i shall go try it one day..haa..

and guess wat!! they have indian movies here!! Shah Rukh Kan and Hrithik ROshan! here i come!! rental fees are only 2 bucks for a week woohoo!

the weather is getting really cold here..9degrees at night...*shiver* showering is a torture man..
Feels like the time when i was in Thailand..loL! gonna buy an electric blanket and heater...hopfully i won't electrocute under it..haha..

One very exciting thing is! mY non christian housemate has agreed to go to an easter drama production by the church i'm attending! so i hope i'll be able to share the gospel to her through that event. Pray with me k! The Lord has been faithful! I can see the Lord working in my life as well as those around me!

Till then!

The Road Best Travelled...

I just came back from Church its 3pm now in Adelaide time..From 2nd April onwards there will be daylight saving which means that time will go back by 1 Hour! If you think u can't go back in time you are wrong! Ok it dosen't literally mean time going back 1 hour. to find out more please search online on daylight saving loL!

I think 1 way or another in our lives we have thought about where Life in leading us. Some think that they are the architect of their own lives. You are what you make out of your life. Follow your dreams! But have u really questioned what would happened if life didn't go the way you wanted? and you slowly realise that you walking down a totally different path from what you planned it to be. Or even better you dun even think about what you want to do in the future.
ITs good to plan ahead but more important then that we have recognise the author and perfector of our faith. God. One thing that keeps me in perspective is knowing that this life i have is not mine.I have also had plans for my life i'm almost very sure of what i want to do but somehow along the way i'm brought into a different path. A path which i don't see how it leads me to fulfill the goal that i have in mind. I begin to question God.."Lord are u sure this is what you want me to do? " To put it bluntly, i don't see the point in doing it.
But 1 thing that the Lord reminds me again time and again is to trust him! 1 thing i leanrt from reading that book is that God's guidance demands our obedience whether it makes sense to us or not. sometimes we're brought into circumstances that we don't want. and we question why? and we ask God for guidance. Maybe this is the Road that he has brought you to! Prob there is something that he wants you to go through in the process of going through that circumstance to prepare you for what he has planned for u! So in view of that let us live Joyfully unto the Lord know that he is in control!

Joyfully? what you understand by the word joyful? think about it and i'll share it with u guys the next time..
Till then!

ok i blog i blog..

Good Day!

Welcome to another edition of....Sarah you better blog or else!!!!!

Apologies for the late "publication" because i had some trouble with the internet connection in my "COOL" home...loL!
And until now i still dun have internet connection (How cool is that?!!?) *Sobs*
BUT!! i still can access from school...i just finished Law of Property lecture and i'm now in the comp lab.

Its been 2 weeks since i started school and it has gone on pretty well except that the studying environment is really different from singapore.
In a lecture in singapore you wouldn't really hear students asking questions but down here..whoa!! You can hear questions shooting all throughout the lecture!
ANd more often then not, after they asked the question i'll be like yeah hoh...why didn't i think of that?? Students here put more thought into what they are learning.

Singaporean students that come here would find that you are actually quite slack. because most of the time we'll be like, ok lets get the lecture over and done with then study it when u get nearer the exam.
People that is WRONG , "shi chuo de", tak boleh!!

Start listening to what your teachers/lecturers are saying during the lesson, put thought into it and ask questions!! IT makes learning a whole lot more interesting and ou'll remmeber it better.

Praise the Lord that he has placed me in such an environment! It keeps me on my toes, it makes me will to have more interest in my lessons! Thats exactly what i needed to be. NO MORE SLACKING!!!

I have recently read a book called "The Road Best Travelled". it talked about knowing GOd's will for you life. It has given me quite good insights and corrected some misconceptions about God's will. i will be sharing it with you guys in the subsequent Blogs..

Very encouraged by some of your blogs especially Peng's
Thanks for sharing your struggles and even what you have learnt from the Lord!
It certainly encourages me! Keep it coming!!

Till Then!!

Cheers!

Here i am!

okok i shall blog! haha..

Thank God for the save journey here to Adelaide!
i really held back my tears at the airport coz i tink at home cry too much already sars..
Thanks to all who came to send me off at the Airport and for all the gifts! i really appreciate it...
but for now i dare not take a look at those stuff again coz when i took it out i cried..sars..

Anyways Adelaide's great! beautiful weather, nice people, things are expensive though, i ate a plate of chicken rice for A$7!!! sar le wo....
right now i'm staying with my fren's classmate, 2 very nice aussie ladies..but we area hoping to find an accomodation really soon..coz we wouldn't want to impose on them.

At the same time, they are very organic people even the dog food and toilet paper is organic! lol..

I with my 2 frens haven been driving around almost half of the state viewing houses and calling up agents, i have become the official street directory reader if u ask me now i can tell u most of the suburbs around the city..lol!

Its very quiet here...people work only from 9 to 5..seldom have OT, and the town is only bustling with activity on friday nights.. after 5pm only some of the eating places are open.

I was telling myself sars..this is going to be a hard move from a full of activity life in singapore to quiet peaceful Adelaide. Will i be able to fit in and settle down? can a find a proper church ? Will i be able to find fellow bros and sis in Christ to study the bible with? This few questions have been bugging me this whole week.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Thank God that he reminded me of this verse and indeed i am comforted and reassured!

I'm sure a lot of us knows the verse by heart but do we really excercise it?
well its time for me to do so and i hope u will too! pray for me that i will continue to depend on the Lord and trust him wholeheartedly. Amen!

COme Alive with JIVE!

Hello!! Haven updated for a really really (x10) long time..
the last time was like in May?!?!!??!! sars man....
but then again now the popular thing is not sars,.. its Bird flu..whahahahha!
but i cannot say bird flu man...rite??? (ok lame...this is contributed by shermaine,obviously not a good idea..)

Thought that i'll start this blog again so that when i go over to OZ land ,
i can share with you guys wat's been happening and how the Lord has blessed and worked in my life there.

Well, right now i'm busy packing the stuff that needs to be brought there, packing and cleaning my room. Neatening ( is there such a word??) up my cow collection (a nice soul did that for me..thanks!) I'm kinder getting sadder by the day because the thought of leaving you guys and my family behind is so..haiz..sad.. but a fren told me that i'll get to spend eternity with all of u anyways..so that encouraged me! really trusting in the Lord that he'll do a good work in and through me there...

Till then..

Tag tag tag k!!

i

More to this life

back again...after nearly a month.

However lotsa stuff happened within the span of 3 weeks. Grandpa in and out of hospital and he passed away on 23rd Feb.

but! indeed the Lord has been good!
You may wonder whether i'm mad or jus plain bo chup to think that God can still be good after what has happened. but if you are really wondering why, come and ask me.

Giving thanks to the Lord also for the people that encouraged my family and i during our bereavement. Esp to my dear sister G for all the smses..really appreciate that.

its back to work again.. really enjoying what i am doing at the moment. Its difficult at times..i mean which job is not difficult..but i really thank the Lord for my colleagues coz they've really been helping me a lot! not only are they always ready to answer my questions but whenever they come across something that they think i may not know, they will take the initiative to teach me! The best thing is they are fun!

well Life goes on but make sure that you are living a life with a purpose!


There’s more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there’s more than this life alone can be.

Trust his Heart..

Chinese New year is something that i look forward to every year..
Family Dinner,Visitation,snacks and ang paos!
everyone in their new clothes and in a cheery mood!

we did the same as we did every year pineapple tarts,love letters Keropok..steamboat..but it was different..
Ah kong wasn't with us when we did all these...went to the nursing home to visit him..felt sad when i saw that he was having difficulty breathing..Later on he was in critical condition in the hospital..Docs said he could go anytime..
Thoughts went through my mind..was thinking that it'll be better if the Lord takes him away so that he wouldn't have to suffer so much..but then again..who are we to demand from God?
He knows the perfect timing..
There's this song that i know that talks about trusting in the Lord even when
in our human weakness we may not see the evidence of the Lord "working"

"Trust his Heart"


All things work for our good
though sometimes we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
sometimes blind us to the truth.
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So, when your pathway grows dim,
and you just can't see Him,
Remember He's still on the throne.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
trust His heart.

He sees the Master plan.
He holds the future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope.
All our hope is found in Him.
We walk in present knowledge,
but He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry,
He's weaving you and me to someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.