let the madness begins ...

Community .. or something like it ....

couple of years ago, i read Don Miller's Blue Like Jazz ... and he wrote about community and living with other Christians in forming a Christian community ... an old but refreshing concept because in America we've tend to be individualistic and attend "meetings" as we go ... and then leave our "communities" behind ...

last couple of days, or weeks ... getting into a community is actually pretty awesome =)
the cure for loneliness is NOT romance ... Don Miller pointed that out ... so does many other dating books ... the cure for loneliness is community, because we are made for community !! (what a refreshing, yet ancient idea that we've seemed to forget !) ..

anyways,
my summer season had been going well ... =P
had been trying to get in the routine of doing good research - that has been frustrating because i felt like i'm stucked because i do not know the area or materials very well ... the other thing is the lack of motivation ... and yes ... i know i should be more diligent ...

by the way, i was so excited when my first authored paper is accepted to a symposium in August !!! - that means i'm bounded for the West Coast in the middle of August =)

on the other hand, i've gotten opportunities to form new friendships - getting to know new friends or old friends better ... that's always good ...

hopefully by the end of this summer, i would look back and think i haven't wasted it ...

i love this summer season.

don't wake me up when september ends ... hehe ...

rejoice . praise . live for Him !

peace out.

Freedom.

i wrote this couple months ago on an airplane flying back from Taiwan ... just thought i would share this on my blog =)

Daniel.
---------------------------------
Between the shores is where i am,
stuck between the time of present, past and future,
the culture of east and west,
the beauty of Your creation.

Thank You for opening my eyes,
to see the wonders of Your works,
to see that You're still actively working in this world,
in You the world is flat because Your gospel is flat.

Your love is without boundaries,
without partial ratings and such,
a boy in Texas is as much in need of Your grace as a girl in Moscow, so is the village in East Timor to the streets of Taipei.

Your mercy is new,
Your grace is fresh,
and the heralds yell out,
"Repent for the kingdom of God is near!".
Even the beat of Motown screams for freedom,
not anymore from the slavery of man but from the slavery of sin.

As we march with Your beats,
and only Yours,
only Your gospel, Lord Jesus,
can rescue us.

Salvation is here!

Evangelical Manifesto ...

http://www.evangelicalmanifesto.com/

... hmm ... it's interesting ...
i think it's good for someone to publicly clarify the meaning of evangelicals !
so ... go ahead a read it ... sign it .... and maybe let me know what u think .. =)

i'll post my thoughts ... some other time ...

Plead for mercy and get to work.

i'm not sure what to think or write - i don't wanna write something stupid or wrong.
but this is sure - keep up with the news and you are going to think disasters -

just in the last few days - disasters after disasters are happening around the world ...
- read about the earthquakes in China ~
(to put it in perspectives ... the capacity of Toyota Center in Houston (for Houston Rockets) can
hold up to 18,300 people - that's slightly more than the death toll ..... ) http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/347454/1/.html

- read about the cyclone and its aftermath in Myanmar ~
(to put it in perspectives ... the population of Bryan-College Station Metro is about 120,000 - 160,000, that's the slightly more than the death toll so far in Myanmar .... )
see previous post and
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080513/ts_afp/myanmarweathercyclone;_ylt=AhvoWsg83p9A6MuXfm6kn72s0NUE

- read about the tornadoes in Central United States ~
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tornado13-2008may13,0,4637126.story?track=rss
and plead for God's mercy.
and get to work and spread His word.
and pray and ask God what you and i can help ...
then act.

no questions ask.

the start of another season ....

yep - spring semester is officially over - i think.

praise God for an awesome spring semester - if you know me - and my homegroup (aka christian community that i belong to ... ) and church - it has been an awesome semester that saw lots of people joined the group and grown spiritually ... and it's good as well for my grad studies - i've enjoyed my graduate studies more this year - and it has been awesome =)

.... now onto this summer ...

i will be situated in College Station,TX - whoop - once again ! continuing my work as an RA and gearing up for my thesis ... at times i was thinking about friends that are going on mission trips and how fortunate they are ... but ... i gotta constantly reminding myself that my mission field is here - and in academia - lots of prayers are needed !!

... here's a couple of verses that i've came across today ... i hope it makes an impact in my life !
Acts 4 : 12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:29
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

....
i just bought a new book (it's actually a couple of years old ...) - "The End of Poverty by Jeff. Sachs) - an interesting book indeed -

and

if you haven't been noticing the news for a while ...
consider these headlines ...
- Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar - please read, pray and act !

• http://www.gfa.org/cyclone
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7393914.stm
• http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1215_6_ways_to_react_to_the_cyclone/

- Volcanoes eruption in South America
- Elections in America ... Obama is inching closer to be the Dem's candidate
- Elections in Zimbabwe ... (runoff elections)
- Tensions in Lebanon (it has ended i think as of a couples hrs ago .... )

... that's all for now ....

This is home

new video from Narnia and Switchfoot - great song too !

Words that impact are not mere words ....

i am kinda sick and tired for so many times that we've read the Scripture, or had studied the scripture like a scholarly document without it really impacting our lives ...

i read some verses today that stood out to me ... which much grace which i really needs today ...
i'm gonna share'em ...

1 John 2 : 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for^[a] the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2 : 12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

1 John 2 :13 b I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2: 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

... think about it =) ..

Daniel

Learning how to die - Jon Foreman

New song by Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot):

I'm gonna miss you
I'm gonna miss you when you're gone
She says I love you
I'm gonna miss you and your song

I said Please,
Don't talk about the end
Don't talk about how
Every living thing goes away

She said Friend,
All along I thought I was learning how to take
How to bend, not how to break
How to live, not how to cry
But really I've been learning how to die

I've been learning how to die

Hey everyone
I've got nowhere to go
The grave is lazy
He takes our bodies slow

And I said Please
Dont talk about the end
Don't talk about how
Every living thing goes away

I said Friend
All along I thought I was learning how to take
How to bend, not how to break
How to live, not how to cry
But really I've been learning how to die

I've been learning how
to die
die
die
I've been learning how to die
I've been learning how to die

- Jon Foreman

Vision

i posted this about 2 years ago ... then i came back to it ....

From - Red Moon Rising ... what is your vision?

They are free
yet they are slaves
of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive,every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps,their Satan games.
…And this vision will be.
It will come to pass;
it will come easily;it will come soon.
How do I know?
Because this is the longing of creation itself,
the groaning of the Spirit,the very dream of God.
—Pete Greig, excerpted from The Vision

Thoughts on being 24

here's a bit of a delay update on my thoughts of being 24 ... (in bullet forms) - it had been kinda crazy last couple of days that i didn't really have time to think about this ... here are some reflections for the past years :

• praise God for my homegroup (aka Church/Christ centered community) - it had definitely been a awesome year
• praise God for my graduate studies at Texas A&M - at times it had been hard (and it's still is) but i've learned to enjoy it more and more =)
  
• praise God for an awesome family ! (cross-continent and pacific ocean!)
• praise God for opportunities to serve in my local community !
• praise God for providing for my needs
• praise God for awesome roommates
• praise God for awesome friends (you know who you are !)

i guess there are some stuff that i would like to accomplish before i turned 25 (woah!)
here's some of it (maybe all of it)

• see my friends come to know Christ (this is specific .... )
• donate blood
• get the Dimension of the Faith certificate from Gordon-Conwell Seminary
• finish graduate school !
• publish a paper in academia
• go to a Switchfoot or Jon Foreman concert!

that's all for now i guess .... :-P

here are some pics from my party in case you are wondering ....

yep - gathering around the karaoke machine!


jon, me and bill.

the awesome cake (from my sis esther) and i ...

i got this gift from my sis ... and it's awesome !

White as snow.

I ran across this song several months ago when Jon Foreman of Switchfoot decided to release 4 EPs (Spring,Fall,Winter and Summer) - i think this track is in the Winter EP.



White As Snow
Have mercy on me, oh God
According to Your unfailing love
According to Your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions

Create in me a clean heart, oh God
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation

The sacrifices of our God are a broken and a contrite heart
Against You and You alond have I sinned

Would You create in me a clean heart, oh God
Restore in me the joy of my salvation

Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole
Wash me white as snow
And I will be made whole


.....

and this morning as i read Psalms 51 ...
i realize Jon was singing that Psalm - heart felt and real !

Ps 51 (From Biblegateway.com, NIV)

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ^[a] ;
you teach ^[b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are ^[c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

---

O Lord - create in us a clean heart, and restore to us the joy of your salvation.

peace.

Heroes

We spoke of heroes like they never exists,
We spoke of heroes as ones driven not by love but by hate or revenge,
In our society heroes are full of justice,
yet lack of mercy,
i'm no critic of heroes,
i'm still looking for one frankly,
in this generation that is waiting for their hero to come rescue them,
or be the hero themselves.

the hero that i know is different,
quite different indeed,
a hero driven by love, not hate,
a hero that is full of justice,
yet full of mercy,
justice is not just served on the streets,
but within a person, in his/her heart,
i found Him, not in any comics, fantasies or movies,
He's in the ancient scriptures,
He's not some fiction that we made up,
He's the hero because He died so we can lived,
He's the hero because when justice is served, he suffered so we can live,
He's Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
the only hero fits to save this world,
and yes,
the only hero fits to save you and i,
and yes,
even though He appeared in an ancient account,
yet he's timeless,
and He's alive today as much as 2000 years ago,
just seek and look,
and you'll find Him.
trust me.

happy easter.

hmm... Spring Break ; Mid-semester update

not sure if anyone is still reading this ...
but whatever - ah .. mid-semester already .. and Spring break has pretty much came and gone.
it was indeed a good spring break, spent the earlier part of it up in the DFW area hanging out with some friends - well i picked up playing piano/keys again ... i played with my sis, Ian and few other people up in Irving for my friend Michelle and Waldo's church ... really indeed enjoy playing keys and worshippin' the Lord :o) - maybe i should do that more ...

and i got to read 2 books as well ... yay ! - a book comparing the life and views of Freud and C.S Lewis - very interesting indeed ... just to see how Lewis's life changes after he encountered Jesus Christ as his saviour and knowing his Creator - and it's also sad to see Freud struggling to find answers to the questions he had :-( - but one thing for sure - Lewis's life is a good testimony of how God changes lives as well as touches lives ! I also get to read through the book on Back To Jerusalem's vision - the vision of Churches in China to bring the Gospel back to the Middle East going through the last frontier of middle asia ! It's amazing to see all the believers that surrender their lives to Christ - ranging from Lewis to the people in Back to Jerusalem movement - i want my life to be touched as well !

i think one thing though ... i was reminded that the best combat against apathy , is the Gospel of Jesus Christ =) Social Activism without Christ will eventually leads to apathy ... as well as many other things ..

ahh yes ... there was a big shake up in Malaysian govt last week (ok ... i am Malaysian) and that was interesting ! Hopefully the Opposition Front in Malaysia can bring some change !

anyways - Spring Break is (almost) over - back to real life !

:-p

and yes i do enjoying taking a walk in the park during early evening - it's really relaxing and refreshing.

God bless.

life

Is this the New Year or just another night?
Is this the new fear or just another fright?
Is this the new tear or just another desperation?

Is this the finger or just another fist?
Is this the kingdom or just a hit n' miss?
A misdirection, most in all this desperation

Is this what they call freedom?
Is this what you call pain?
Is this what they call discontented fame?

It'll be a day like this one
When the world caves in
When the world caves in
When the world caves in

-- the blues.
Switchfoot.

how i felt ....

Ps 40.

12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.

13 Be pleased, O LORD, to save me;
O LORD, come quickly to help me.

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

17 Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

1 John 2

14I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

Spring Outlook

i guess i haven't really written for a while, life's been pretty good - praise God !
i spend my Christmas/Winter break with my family in Taiwan, it was good. It was amazing to see the things that God is doing in Taiwan - and - the fervency of the believers that - it's really encouraging - i think there's much for us (US believers) to learn from them - i saw miracles - heard stories on miracles - and just the wonderful workings of God in that country - where the gospel is desperately needed ...

and ... again i've started my Spring semester back in Aggieland -
life's pretty good - i'm trying to get into a routine - i guess - of being discipline to work, and study and rest, then ponder about life and reflect on God's word as much as i can ...
i've been into designing user interfaces lately - both with my research and work - it's frustrating sometimes because it's not as easy as it seemed when there are multiple objects and attributes on the screen - but i do have fun playing with multiple programming languages ranging from c# to c++ to javascript .... yes .... javascript .... i should have something fun soon.

and ... my bible study group / homegroup had been awesome - it's amazing when God draws people to Himself.

and ... got a new pair of Starbury Street Shoes .... yeah go figure because Stephon Marbury is not that great of a NBA player right now ....

that's all for now .... i'll post some pics and possible some poetry.... hopefully ... soon.

peace.

The Saints marching in ....

(from BBC)

this is just an illustration ... obviously i'm not talking about a football team,

but i want to march with the Saints,

just like what Sara had describe in her song ... 

it's easy to talk about changing the world over a cup of coffee,

it's easy to say we want to make a difference in this world,

it's easy to say, but it's not easy to live it out .... 

but - that's not the point - 

through Christ, and only through Christ who gives us strength,

through Christ we had overcome the sin, and death,

to give us the ability to live for Him,

and make a differences in this world and next !

On-wards Christian Saints !

whoop.

Daniel

Check this out ...

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
 

I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharaohs court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary at the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying mans side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down that door

I see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
I want to be one of them
- Sara Groves - When the Saints (free Discovery Download on iTunes for the week)

- see full lyrics on Sara's website