well... havent blogged in a while lol
yeah hmmm lets see monday was my last set of lectures for the summer unit i've been doing since the 3rd of Jan... with the final exam on Monday... well hahaha after this unit's completion i'll now owe $684 to the Govt :-P to be repaid sometime...
yes and have i been making the best of it? well i dont know... whats the "opportunity cost" of that $$$? hmmm an IPOD? yeah... oh well not that i had a choice anywayz... it was either do the unit in the summer or overload both semesters ....
yes anywayz have just entered my tute preferences for Sem 1... thanx to JWS for reminding me :-D would completely have forgotten otherwise lol
yeah if all goes to plan, i have 4 half days next sem :-D i mean, there's a few early starts here and there, but with only 15 contact hours (i think thats about it lol) spread over 5 days :-D it's lookin like a fun Sem 1, until exams come anywayz lol
then again, the Online Class Registration system hasn't been kind to me in the past... i remember Sem 2 when due to some screwup (well it's either that or they just dont like me, and i'd like to think i was a likeable person :-P), i ended up at the uni from 8am to 6pm on Tuesdays, with like 9 classes on that day... supposedly one of the allocation criteria is the distance one stays from the uni, well is CanningVale far enough for u?

yes what else have i been doin? hmmm not much ... just some study for my exam lol... might as well make the most of my $684 :-D
have 3 topics to cover in 4 days and 1 morning (monday morning) ... should make it in time :-P

after a prolonged period of procrastination, i finally finished the 1500 word essay due monday that morning at around 12:30 am... :-P yes dont say it, i'm abit of a last minute person
hahaha well considering i only started seriously on Wednesday... it was abit dodgy for a research assignment on road pricing lol... actually very dodgy since yeah... research kinda isn't my thing (Google it!!! :-P) i think i googled most of the assignment yes, and the rest of the references were from Da Jie's notes (i didnt reference her notes, but there were some very relevant articles in the 500+ pages she gave me lol :-D)

Sunday was another excellent church service
the sermon was on being a Steward of God, which i found particularly relevant to myself. its often hard to remember that we came into earth with nothing, and thus we are merely stewards, not owners of everything we have (our abilities, possessions etc). so why are we so attached to ourselves in general if it all belongs to God? like for example, i'm extremely attached to my guitar (given to me by my father 2 years ago)... like hahaha i would consider taking a bullet for it lol (well in a non-lethal area... try my right arm for example, cos im a leftie :-P)
anywayz back to a more serious note... why am i strongly attached to it if "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15)? because i'm a sinful person (NB: i would never put it above God though) "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace throught the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" Romans 3:23-24 ... Cheers... we all are sinners and it is only because of Grace that we are saved. but would i be willing to give it all up to follow Him? or would i be like the rich young man? "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" 2 Timothy 3:12. *nothing comes without a price* yes... but well for Him who died for me... what price is too great to pay?after all, "blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you nad insult you nad reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." Luke 6:22-23
in the words of a song i heard recently:

"for me you came and died
for you now i do live
you bled upon the cross now i am free
i want nothing more than just to be with you
closer to you jesus you make me feel brand new

and i cant live without you anymore

i'm living for you, and the world will know your truth
i'm gonna shine your light in the darkness
i'll go for you, nothing can stand in my way
teach me God your holy ways
i'm living for you" Youth Alive WA

"now get up and stand on your feet" Acts 26:16. as Jesus exhorted Paul... well what are we waiting for?

the sermon also linked with a few things that i've come to realize more seriously in the past weeks. it took a phone call from my cell leader to remind me that we're only here because of grace. God doesn't need our abilities. he can easily raise someone else up to serve Him...
i have recently been reading a book, "The heavenly man", on Brother Yun, a man who has suffered much for God in China, and yet has refused ever to stop spreading the gospel, and it is towards the end when he is quoted as saying:
"we are absolutely nothing. we have nothing to be proud about. we have no abilities and nothing to offer God. the fact that he chooses to use us is only due to his grace. it has nothing to do with us. if God should choose to raise up others for his purpose and never use us again we would have nothing to complain about"
now if a giant of faith like Brother Yun can say this, well... it just reaffirms what i've been learning lately. God doesn't need me or my abilities for his kingdom. he can take my meager talents away from me if he so wishes, and given my many failings i definitely know it is because of grace :-P.
It is God's divine grace that gives us a chance... something that struck me as i read my Bible (dont do it nearly often enough lol) and flipped to Psalms
"where can i go from Your spirit?
where can i flee from Your presence?
if i go up to the heavens You are there;
if i make my bed in the depths You are there;
if i rise on the wings of dawn,
if i settle on the far side of the sea,
Your right hand will hold me fast"
Psalms 139:7-10
how gorgeous is that? even when we try to run away from Him in our sinfulness... He will still search for us for "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" Romans 8:35. he will never force us to follow him, no, but he desires a deeper relationship with us.
"Here i am! i stand at the door and knock. if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, i will come in and eat with him, and he with me" Revelations 3:20
is He knocking at the door of your heart?