Kendra turns 19





Today would not have happened without:

German Chocolate cupcakes - courtesy of Crimson and Cream (so good)

Laura - brought party hats for everyone and a tiara for the Birthday girl! :)

Last but not least - mastermind behind everything. Nosi! She planned and made tonight happened. So blessed and thankful for this year wonderful lady ❤️


This is Kendra. I met her barely 3 months ago but I love her so much already. In many ways she has been such a blessing to me. She has been like my "little" sister - no I'm kidding. But her love for God inspires to always pursue God with all my heart.
From my brief friendship with Kendra I can say this about her.
Kendra is kind, she is determined- to love God and love others. Kendra is full of joy and caring. But most of all Kendra's child like faith and love for God is extraordinary.
Happy 19th birthday, to this wonderful life I have a privilege to be a part of.
Love you Kendra Sy!

New seasons

It is about time I admit that it is a time of new seasons for me. Oh where do I start? It is going to be my second month here.

To be honest, it is after 2 months would be the longest I have been away from home. When I studied in Kuching (Borneo Islands) I flew home every other weekend lol - even for 3 days. I would skip classes sometimes heh. Realising I can't do that here is a little bit new for me.

Nevertheless, my time here has been nothing less than amazing. I have definitely had some ups and downs for sure, but this week has been overwhelming for me. I would like to remind my future self reading this to never look back again. This week has been a breakthrough for me. This is true in so many different ways.

I've had countless nights tossing and turning in bed and waking up before my alarm rings. Throughout the week I went through so many things that I had to constantly choose peace. Yes, you should agree that it is not easy. Often, the easier way would be to just admit defeat and start worrying. Anxiety. Believing in anxiety and worrying is a paradox to believing in God. This is a lesson I've heard countless times (especially during the Fullness conference) I know but never learnt to take heart (at least till now). I was so exhausted - the cold, the snow, cancellation of tests, every other reason. By Friday I was beat. Tired out, and suddenly I decided to listen to Graham Cooke's message from Fullness. Hearing it the third time finally struck me in the heart. I've had this gradual feeling of freedom, pure peace and just slowly feeling free again.

Yes, situations may not go my way all the time but Jesus is for me.

---

Also, this week so many people have ministered to me and I want to remind myself to be thankful for them. My parents have always been on Skype telling me to trust God in everything, and in life group this week we had a prophecy practice thing. It was so impromptu! Regardless, Jesus is always good and we prophesied over each other. The guys in my small group spoke three things over me: fruits I may not see, a calming sunrise and the word patience. (Yeah like, what?) But I have faith! To see all this things come to pass. Anyways back to the Friday. I purposed in my heart that I was so tired of living a tired life, I want to hold my ground and claim my rest back. To add on the whole process, today, Past Chris spoke about the "Change of Heart" in church. What are we living for? Because everything that we do springs out from the heart. Are we guarding it?

Nosi spoke a word over me today - it struck me so hard. I am not ready to share it yet. But I am so blessed. To catch a glimpse of what's in store for me.

Psalms 91 - a whole chapter worth meditating over and over again.

---

 

AH LIFE, SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO. Two more hours into a brand new week. What do you say Jesus? Ready? Well, if You are I am.

Have a great week ahead everyone! Remember to always be grateful for each day you live, live it to the best you possibly can. An ex classmate's sister passed away earlier today. It's always devastating to hear of new like this but Jesus wanted her home early. We can only live each day like it's our last. Only then we've really lived. :)

Oh. My old love for Switchfoot is back. I found this song ever so relevant.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7JJWqr7Oes?list=PLC90792750749EF39&w=560&h=315]

Loving Your Enemies

"And oh this morning, as I think of the fact that our world is in transition now. Our whole world is facing a revolution. Our nation is facing a revolution, our nation. One of the things that concerns me most is that in the midst of the revolution of the world and the midst of the revolution of this nation, that we will discover the meaning of Jesus’ words.

History unfortunately leaves some people oppressed and some people oppressors. And there are three ways that individuals who are oppressed can deal with their oppression. One of them is to rise up against their oppressors with physical violence and corroding hatred. But oh this isn’t the way. For the danger and the weakness of this method is its futility. Violence creates many more social problems than it solves. And I’ve said, in so many instances, that as the Negro, in particular, and colored peoples all over the world struggle for freedom, if they succumb to the temptation of using violence in their struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos. Violence isn’t the way.

Another way is to acquiesce and to give in, to resign yourself to the oppression. Some people do that. They discover the difficulties of the wilderness moving into the promised land, and they would rather go back to the despots of Egypt because it’s difficult to get in the promised land. And so they resign themselves to the fate of oppression; they somehow acquiesce to this thing. But that too isn’t the way because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here. We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better."

"Love is the only way. Jesus discovered that."

Loving Your Enemies, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Frankly

Reading this leaves me in tears. Yoon Yeung (the son) may be just running marathons. But he changed his father's world. So much love - to the point of that sacrifice? Got me thinking, how hard is it for me to run without pushing a wheelchair. And this amazing person willingly runs and pushes his beloved father throughout 42km. Now, he can truly say he loves his Pa.

Hmm.

"I may not be able to change the world, but I can change one person's world. "

The Fault in Our Stars

"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once."

If you play this while reading reviews/thoughts of people on the book; get some tissues first. You will need it. I finished reading this short book in two nights. The only reason is because my heart couldn't take it. What a beautiful book. It is definitely one for instigating waterworks. If you know what I mean. I cannot say it is about love entirely. However it is a very thought provoking book. What an emotional read.

The love between Hazel and Augustus was so real. Frankly, I have never read something so intense (not including books abundant with those scenes), nothing like I have ever read before. But oh they way they thought in the book. Reflects the thoughts we ought to have. Because in the end we're all dying, cancer or no cancer. I shall leave you to ponder on whether or not you should read "The Fault in Our Stars", generally I don't agree to everything they say about the after life but I believe it opens minds. Thinking beyond living selfishly. With that, I have chosen beautiful pages of the book. So beautiful, I cannot...

---

"There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.”
―  Hazel Grace in The Fault in Our Stars

---

“I'm in love with you," he said quietly.

"Augustus," I said.

"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.”
"My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
―  Augustus Waters in The Fault in Our Stars

Much to ponder upon. “I like my choices. I hope she likes hers.”

Inspired.

Do read.

Inspired.

Do read.