10/10/10

so as i was worshipping yesterday at youth service, i felt God telling me about starting up something that enables pictures i have taken to give life to its viewers. the aim was really just to impact lives and lives are what matter in God's eyes. big or small, it is God who works and not me.

visit seed pix. at  http://seedpix.tumblr.com

as we converge

and so it starts

a little noise in the sky

a little paint of freedom

a seemingly perfect picture painted in a different light

where do we go from here

*pic taken below the towering buildings of london*

Summer Trip!

family and i at Colosseo, Roma

in Madrid to watch and celebrate the World Cup finals win with the footballers!

i am now back in singapore! *do i call it home?* 

anyway, the last few weeks have created really exciting and enjoyable memories as i spent with family around europe. we visited london, lake district, paris, barcelona, madrid and rome. it was a trip that i planned for the whole family from the booking of flights to the hotels and the itinerary =) really enjoyed it! 

one thing i am realizing day by day is my love for people and culture. the more i travel the more i feel the need/want in me to meet more and more new people from various cultures. 

as i appreciate every single memory i had from this europe trip with my family, i am looking forward for the many more memories that will be created in due time =)

the trip ended of in a really unexpected manner. my granpa in Penang passed away on the afternoon my family and i touched down in Singapore from Rome. my parents and i took the next afternoon's flight out to Penang to attend the wake. so many thoughts and emotions ran passed my head as i headed back to Penang. since i was young, i have never been really close to my relatives and this time around, i actually gained much insight about my ancestral history that i have never found out about. it was also a good reminder for me that i have grown up, and that keeping in touch with relatives will soon be part of my responsibility.

one thing for sure this time around was also the feeling and experience of a funeral. it has been always a little scary for me since young as i attended funerals. but this time around i felt the peace of God as i spent my time at the funeral. it sure is quite something and i am really glad about. i don't need to feel the fear of death spelt before me.

the past 5 days since i have touched back down in Singapore felt like 2-3 weeks worth of experiences in itself. i have met people of so many backgrounds and of different nationalities in very interesting ways. one thing that funnily strung the different meetups were "entrepreneurship" and "life advice". all i can say is that i am just really excited about the times ahead and as i open my ear, hearts and mind, i am sure to be amazed by the new encounters i am headed towards!

at the same time as all this stuff are happening, i am stressed out by my product design for my final year project. i am hitting a design roadblock and i have a deadline for a report due next week. then again i was reminded that this was a God given project and i am gonna claim success over it =) 

sometimes it is really so easy to be so irritated, frustrated and want to give up when facing a roadblock, but when we take a step back, we realize the opportunity that the roadblock offers and it will give us a new insight into the reason why we are doing things and the needed "push" at that very time of need.

let's meet the Englishmen!

heading to london tomorrow for the start of a family trip to Europe =) 

thank you God for the opportunity and blessing

thank you God for answering the prayers over the last week for my FYP

thank you God for the friends who have been praying for me

i can sense my camera is more excited than me!

the convenant

It's a new record

As we look to the lines of tomorrow

We start to realize the miracles around

That's the life we were all meant to have

Today is the day a new covenant is set, for the history is being written

*watched Mae, another band I wished to see when I was a teenager. God never fails to remind me*

- the fire fight

-mae

trance&electro

have a sudden urge to listen and get my feet moving. just got craving after checking out Plastikman and his wicked lightings, imagery and music.

Plastikman Live in Mannheim for Timewarp festival 2010 from Jocelyn Bour on Vimeo.

!

prepping myself up for a photoshoot tmr

the photo kinda expresses my feelings now

excited but yet a little uncertain

i am really happy to give the shoot as a gift to Keith and Ruqi =)

looking at wedding photos really allows me to get a glimpse of ppl's magical moments

and it really makes me smilingly happy!

senses

has been quite a week of learning many new teachings and perspectives from Kris Vallotton and Dan McCollam from Bethel Church, Redding, CA.

"Senses are for the sensitivity for God; rather than for sensuality"

it is interesting perspective to see things in the perspective of we as spiritual beings with some physical encounters rather than physical beings with some spiritual encounters

*photo taken in Marina Bay Sands Casino, Singapore*

We are 22, the world awaits us!

as our age slowly creeps upon us, let's keep it going! i am reminded of Joshua and his character

had a great presentation of our product today after 2 weeks of intense product development. definitely a God sent summer programme. made such great friends in the team and God clearly answered my prayers in so many aspects =)

heading to indonesia tomorrow to do some wakeboarding! yay!

Praise God for my results!

I will keep praising you O'Lord

I am always reassured in Your hands

As I keep my eyes upon You

I know who I am running this race for

"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 paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

opportunities

time

timing

leaving a timeless effect

embracing it all in the coming times

*talented guitarist Zack Kim performing@esplanade*

trip to home

just got back from KL 2 days back. spent most of my time back home catching up with parents, friends, paintballing, eating and slacking. this time Kev was with me on this trip =)

i guess one of the highlights for me was the process of finding my transponder (key to room in Sg) while on the way back from KL to Sg. As the bus was leaving back to Sg, it donned on me that I forgot to take my transponder back with me and I would have no keys back to my room in Sg (alternatively I had to pay a fine for a new one). I was just so disappointed. I told Kev "if only God would miraculously put my transponder back in my bag".

Guess what?
15 seconds later as I was searching my bag, I found it in one of the pockets in my bag. As far as I remember, I wasn't able to recall putting it in my bag. No matter what, I am reminded to not doubt the miracle but just accept it and thank God for allowing me to find it.
Praise God =)

promises

i am here holding on to your promises

everything i have is yours

till the day we meet face to face in eternity

i look forward to the future installed every new day

thank you Lord for the smile you have put upon me

*the last Copeland show*

the Maker

i just couldn't seem to sleep. n i started to vimeo. i somehow find myself just so deeply moved in making films like these ones. it is the kind of moving of heart that feels as though God is saying something to me and my future. few years ago, i remember wanting to setup a broadcasting station/channel as a platform for God. sometimes i do wander in my thoughts back to the days and i wonder what God has installed..

The Dancer from Kensington on Vimeo.

cheers to the future!

some grow with different environments

2 Liners

i just had a thought that we would change the way we remember our friends by giving every friend we have a 2 sentence liner summary (must be positive) apart from his/her name.

it will be definitely easy for close friends. but do it for everyone. 

we might remember the positive things about everyone and value everyone for who they are.

use this 2 sentence liner summary to introduce your friends too!

muzik!

berbisik di hatiku

melafazkan fikiranku

muzik: Alexa

the lines we all draw

fill my cup

I could sing of your love forever

the rain

somedays tears fall from the sky

through tears the living grow

nonetheless it keeps one wet and shivering

the feeling of these drops only one knows

it can be said that it is a choice of perspective

a choice that tears help the living grow

sometimes tears are beamed with light

a spectrum of faithfulness one is shown

*photo: yosemite*

the greatest

love is patient

love is kind

it does not envy

it does not boast

it is not proud

it is not rude

it is not self-seeking

it is not easily angered

it keeps no record of wrongs

love does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth

it always protects

always trusts

always hopes

always perseveres

love never fails

- 1 Cor 13:4-8

*photo: taken at downtown Philly - the famed skate/love park*

furry love

head on

fwiday

ehhe! ice cweam!

The Pursuit

'cause every new day

it's gonna be a great day

'cause I see a new revelation

that I am living you Lord

reading: ecclesiastes

*photo: shot at the canyons in the cold early morning*

Little Memories of Encouragement

wrapped up my group's wind turbine project today.

last friday, we put multiple fans in front of our wind turbine, and nothing turned

our prof who was present, just gave us the "you guys are in deep s***" look

and he went on to say "i'll give you card access to the lab as i anticipate OT from you guys over the weekend"

in a span of a few hours, we had a lorry rented and ready for us to do testing the next day

instead of sun in the following morning, the morning greeted us with showering from above

gosh. i prayed, prayed but yet it rained

we attempted a few times to do testing but the weather just seemed unfavorable

finally the skies decided to dry up and we did crazy life-risking testing on the highway

all i can say is that everything was crazy... but my friends and i were determined that we had a presentation on monday morning and that mattered most

cum Monday morning, my client, my prof were very pleased with the results. everything just flowed into place even though our test results weren't that great (in my opinion)

somehow the whole presentation flowed and we were able to present everything nicely

it has been a year long project that initially me and calv dropped out of another group to form our current one. i took the leap of faith to form and lead the new group. all praise to God =)

a dash to the past and the future

the passion the drive. sometimes it marvels me at how much the world can vary its thinking and beliefs. all I know and I have faith in is that God will provide and I don't need to push myself to the other end of the world to chase after $$. foolish and naive some might say, but I'll let God prove His point.

bahasa bahasa

sudah lama aku tidak berbahasa melayu. aku risau satu hari nanti bahasa aku menjadi cerita lama dalam hidupku. dahlah aku tak boleh cakap bahasa cina, jika aku tak boleh berbahasa dalam bahasa melayu, habislah bahasa kedua aku.

aku rindu masa dulu bila kat sekolah rendah, bahasa melayu aku macam bahasa pertamaku. kawan-kawan semua pun cakap melayu. sekarang banyak telah berubah.

bahasa bahasa

semakin hari semakin aku lupa

tolonglah selamatkan engkau dalam suaraku

Wrapping Up Soon!

As the semester comes to a close, same goes for projects. It certainly has been quite an experience and opportunity to lead a team to build a wind turbine. I pray for some miracles to happen and for our presentation next week to run smoothly and at least impress our client and profs!

You Are Alive!

Happy Easter!!

Because of this day, everything that was written and said holds through

Your love showered upon us overpowers every imaginable love that can be offered

Unimaginable love, too good to be true

And there is no way I am going to miss out on this love

Good Friday

The greatest good that could emerged from a day or even a lifetime. Thank you Jesus.

our road ahead

in control we might not know

certain it might be

promises we will always hold on to

*picture taken off a dead end road in Malacca*

entering in 2s

shot this over the weekend =)

mum and dad visits!

happy fun time with mum and dad as they dropped by Singapore. visited various places including the new softly launched Resorts World. Wasn't anything spectacular but I guess it was fun just exploring the new spaces Singapore has built. Do hope to go to Universal Studios soon =)

places

spaces

presence

what matters most

enjoying the moments

memories they all create

some highlights of the past weeks =)

downing champagne prior to Kings of Convenience!

getting sashimi fix from Sakuraya. still sitting on my list as best sashimi outlet. salmon belly is awesome!

toffee doing raps!

getting over inertias are hard. but i guess we all have to start somewhere.

Finally!

Yay finally finished booking all the hotels in Europe for my family trip this summer! =) I have been a travel planner and I like it (it's tiring though)! Hope mum, dad and sis are happy with the rooms!

keeping hope in the cities

it's somehow so easy to lose or forget the hopes, dreams and the little ambitious things we tell ourselves if we do not take steps to act on them. East Timor seems like so long ago. a mission trip is not something that would change you immediately but rather start change in your heart.

when i look back, i see the things God can do in our lives and what the value of HOPE is.

i must not lose sight. i shall not stumble into what the world sees as treasure. it is not about being poor but rather having focuses that are right. sometimes i just so often forget of who God is and how He provides.

in the cities i search

in the cities i find love

in the cities the clouds cloud

in the cities i see light in the alleys

what are we building?

the buildings?

our hopes stored in the little compartments?

but yet never satisfies?

cities are beautiful

the interactions flow

but yet we rush with the flow

wondering where is the city of hopefuls

*photo taken from Victoria Peak, Hong Kong*

The Sunsets

the sunsets

what goes down changes the light of day

tomorrow it brings

a new day some might say

*taken over the Hollywood Hills*

had quite some rest for the chinese new year and good quality time with family. had a bunch of work awaiting me once my 1 week of holiday was over. am just quite tired at this moment. came back from an evening meeting regarding my FYP and i realized that my scope of my fyp might change again =S

Ahead We Run!

something that I always grew up knowing, but I thought it was a good reminder to self =)

School starts and so it did

i am really looking forward to this whole new year in school especially since it will be my last year in university. i guess we make out what we want from the places we are placed. what resonates in me more is the excitement to see what God has installed as i start to let him take control of my life. less of me more of Him.

there are 2 things which i think helped me build my confidence up once again. and i thought it was best that i could share. it might make sense to you now or it might not. but i do hope that someday it will make sense.

1. The only fear that we should have is of God.

2. Less of myself, more of You

explaining 1:

i figured out that every other fear apart from the fear of God is bad and it does not come from God. when i start to fear people/things, i start to cast my fear onto God and it is amazing to see the other fears flee. knowing that i do not need to fear anything else but God, it allows me to be who I am and who God intended me to be.

Isaiah 33:6 - the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

explaining 2:

i felt God telling me this while i was in a church camp as a group leader to teenagers and totally stepping out of my comfort zone. i had to do cheers for the first time in my life and i was to lead them. it totally made me put my "trying to look-cool-matured" look down as i embraced more confidence from God. as i think less about myself, and more about God, i realize i am able to do things that i thought i won't possibly do.

well, it might seem like all these just probably applied to me; but if you don't believe it applies to you, try it yourself! =)

i feel that i can't just contain all these things i am experiencing from God without sharing them. it is just like how i just love to share the amazing landscapes God has shown me through the photos i take. *the photo: Yosemite Valley over Spring*

The New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE =)

It has been awhile since I blogged. I woke up today wanting to share a little about the amazing experience I had while in East Timor in December. I spent about a week in Dili, East Timor as part of a mission trip with Church of Our Saviour. A team of 9 of us stayed in Bairo Pete with Siew Lee and Li Shan who were permanent missionaries there. We organized leadership workshops while we were there.

One of my goals for my mission trip was to see God's miracles more tangibly, and He did show it to me. Below is my testimony =)

While lining up at the airport security queue to pass my hand carry bags through the x-ray machine, I realized that I forgot to check in my swiss army knife and it was in my hand carry instead. At the airport security queue, there was a big notice mentioning about prohibited items that included my swiss army knife. Hence, my swiss army knife would have to be definitely confiscated. I was frustrated and I asked God why must this happen to me right at the end of a mission trip as I was leaving back to Singapore. Is this what I get from a mission trip? The swiss army knife I had was worth over a hundred dollars. However, I actually purchased it at a third of the price it was worth. But still, it did mean quite a lot to me. As I was thinking through the situation, Michelle, my teammate said that I must be ready to surrender the swiss army knife when it passes through the x-ray machine. At that moment, I told myself, I had no choice and I was willing to surrender it but it did make my heart feel so heavy. Together with a few teammates, we prayed that God would help us out. As my bags were going through the x-ray machine, the metal detector for the passengers beeped and it distracted the person operating the xray machine. Miraculously, my swiss army knife that is a big chunk of metal passed through the x-ray machine. I was literally speechless when that happened. Even as I was about to forget about my personal goal in the mission trip to see God’s miracles more tangibly, He never fails to answer my goals. As I thought back about my swiss army knife, I felt God telling me that it represented my talents that He has given me. The fact that the swiss army knife was worth so much more than what I paid for indicated the blessings and talents God has multiplied and given to me. However, I clung on too dearly to the blessings and talents that God had given me and He wanted to change my attitude. As I was willing to surrender all my talents and fears in my heart to Him, He will take care of everything else.

I am glad I was able to gain 2 new good friends in my life while I was there.

Antonio and I

Frans and I

ThankYou days

haven't posted here for awhile. it feels like a built up of inertia over time when i don't post. and it keeps repeating itself. hence, no post.

oh well, why think of the inertia? just POST.

anyway, life has been through its up and downs in various places round the globe.

i wake up in the mornings, thinking of the things i can thank God for, and it does keep me going.

i want to focus on what i have rather than all the things which seem to go wrong.

an excerpt of my waking up thoughts:

i thank God for my parents and my lovely family

i thank God for the friends i have

i thank God for bringing this far to university

i thank God for the financial ability to be able to have decent meals

i thank God for the clothes and techie stuff i am blessed with

i thank God that i can spend my weekend in Malaysia with my dear parents

The Lord's plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken. - Psalm 33:11

some hiking and city trips in the past months

Phase to Face

"Have a good life ahead!"

I was working in the sceneshop today when my prof walked by to bid me farewell. And he added that he might not ever leave US after I asked him to come to Singapore. It is rather interesting how I talk to some Americans here and their reply of their likelihood to visit Singapore is so slim.. however, I find myself thinking of going back to US a few more times in the future..

Phases,

I will cherish you,

I wonder whether I will relive you,

A part of my heart is filled,

Memories engraved,

I will not be sad,

For I am appreciating every moment,

Never reliving them,

But always creating new ones.

I am still learning to live enjoying every moment and not thinking of the next phase or the past.

"Those were the days, I cherish them, yet I am happy and thankful where I am right now. I want them as memories"

first love

spent my last weekend on Ski Sundown slopes off West Hartford, Connecticut. snowboarding was definitely a first love kind of thing for me. the joy of snowboarding just brought me straight back to the days i first skateboarded. amazingly fun! 

let's head to the slopes

let's look out where the sunsets

breath-taking sights

let me not lose sight

heading to the airport soon to head to the "Windy City". Looking forward to experience a new city life once again =) every city tells a different tale.