it is well with my soul

There's no better way of celebrating/mourning the end of the mid semester break-- watch Transformers! Well, there are some cheesy parts, eg. how the geek always gets the girl in movies, the right song at the right time, how the Bumblebee's eyelids flutter when he's injured etc. As for me, those parts are outweighed by the great graphics, somewhat original funny scenes, and a childhood dream fulfilled. =)

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A short video clip was shown during church yesterday morning. "In 1873, Horatio Spafford wrote the words to the hymn "It is Well with My Soul" after the tragic death of his four daughters. A very moving sermon illustration". Watch it, and reflect on it.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.


And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.


It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

A bubbly tale

Semester 1 results are officially out. Not the best I can achieve, but I'm happy that I scored pretty good for a paper that is considered to be really tough for many people. Hmm maybe I should switch majors to microbiology instead? Would be interesting to stare down at dozens of microscopes every single day looking at little (sometimes) moving organisms, trying to understand their roles and how they eat, sleep (if they do), secrete wastes, etc etc.

Then when I've finally figured out how microorganism X blows bubbles, I can write a textbook called "Bubbles in our world". I'd make it a compulsory textbook for students enrolled for Health Science first year in 2020, and 1 textbook alone would cost 33 bubble gums. On page 333 of some textbooks would contain special peppermint flavoured tickets to see a special show.

The special show would explain the greatest mystery to human kind EVER. That is, the answer to why Homo sapiens blow bubbles when those transparent, oh-s0-poppable spheres dissolve into the air 5 seconds after they are made. It makes no sense, really, to waste money and time doing that act. However, after thoughtful consideration and 5 years of research, a mad scientist have finally solved the riddle.

No, it is not as simple as mc [square], mind you, it is much much more complicated, so complicated that the scientist had a "mad" added onto his title after he discovered the answer. The lucky audience waited 3.3 hours for the mad scientist to appear on stage, and the chatter stopped once he stepped in front of the podium.

No reporters were allowed, you see. Security measures were so tight that everyone was given a super chewy bubble gum before they enter, this is so that the sticky gum would attract the little organisms living in the oral cavities of people who were lucky enough to witness this once-in-a-lifetime convention.

Everyone sucked in their breath as they take in the mad scientist's words: "... and now, the moment all of you have been waiting for: Behold, a normal bubble is NOT normal at all. They are tools used by aliens used to monitor the evolution of human kind. When you blow a bubble, saliva and thus, DNA flows into the bubble. Then, as it pops, a special signal is transduced to them, allowing them to keep track of us. I discovered that within this little bubbles is a magical ingredient which keep us addicted, if I might say, to blowing bubbles. And people, that is why we blow bubbles!"

The audience stared at the mad scientist in awe, not because they finally understood the mystery, but because the scientist was suddenly wrapped around by a huge bubble, and then taken up into the sky and never to return again!

The end.

***

If you're still reading this, congratulations on being super bored. It has been a joy entertaining you. =)

The betrayal factor

Taken from the daily devotions.

John 13:4
He rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.

Have you ever been betrayed? Your name smeared unjustly? I'm not talking on the bathroom wall either. I'm talking about at the same church you were baptized and married in. I'm referring to when your best friend from childhood through adulthood is two facing you to others. I'm talking about your own flesh and blood biting the very back they use to lie upon while watching Saturday cartoons. I want to move close to you for a moment. Have you ever been betrayed by a person you loved with all your heart. In the movie Braveheart, there is a scene that speaks a language of pain and betrayal without words. It is the look upon William Wallace's (Mel Gibson) face as he pulls the knights helmet off his would be enemy; only to discover his own king and friend has betrayed him after a handshake of loyalty. Remember the scene? Remember the look? Is your betrayal fresh, or old? Was it yesterday or 10 years ago? Have you really dealt with it? Did it break your spirit?

Stay with me. I want to show you 3 truths that will start the healing process in you. It is important that you guard your heart from hatred, rage, unforgiveness and bitterness toward the guilty person. Judas and Peter were the only two disciples who verbally betrayed Jesus. Ironically, Judas and Peter are the only two names mentioned around the table where Jesus was washing filthy feet. Could Jesus be revealing an insight into overcoming betrayal? Let's see.

Knowing whose you are and where you are going in God
This is the first step to overcoming betrayal. It was for Jesus. Read how He encouraged Himself before washing Judas's feet. Remember, Jesus already knew Satan had entered Judas before He washed his feet. Jesus silently encourages Himself in scripture. "Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into His hand, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garment...." John 13:3 Jesus encouraged Himself in the fact that He had come from God and was going back to God. This gave Him the ability and strength to wash His betrayer's feet. How much more do we need to follow Jesus' example here. Again, knowing who you belong to and what He has called you to do is key to overcoming the hatred and bitterness attached with being betrayed.

You must take action
"After that, He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciple's feet." John 13:5 Note the action of pouring. Much effort and strength is required to lift and pour water. Don't forget that forgiveness, as well as love, is a verb. Take action! If Jesus had not forgiven Judas, He would have sinned. Unless you forgive, you cannot be forgiven the Bible declares. It's your heart at stake, not the betrayers. You cannot control the hearts of others. You must take action and begin to pour the water yourself, regardless of how you feel about the situation. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful counselor if we'll listen to Him. If your motive is pure, He will direct, comfort and empower you to walk out your action. Leave the consequences to God. You be obedient!

Your dry towel must get wet
John 13:5 "...and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." That means the towel Jesus was wearing got uncomfortably wet, dirty, stinky and heavy. Friend, if your going to overcome the Judas's in your life, you must take off and put on the garment of humility. It' going to get messy, dirty and heavy! Just remember, it's God's mess! Jesus didn't stop after washing their feet, but completed the task by drying as well. Don't leave loose ends. Don't just call or email. Go directly to your brother or sister! Dirty towels can always be washed! A dirty heart is a completely different matter.

Don't let the sun go down on your wrath!

Bigger than my imagination

These few days can be summed up in one word: revamp.

I took somebody's advice and decided to finally reformat my laptop. For me, it is the worst possible nightmare for me, that's why I've been finding excuses to not reformat. Reformatting means reinstalling every single program and rearranging my (thousands of) songs into playlists, and that's what terrifies me. A LOT.

The process started before midnight, and not surprisingly my eyes were still glued to the laptop by 4am, installing appropriate programs and doing what other people couldn't even be bothered about. It's all about organisation; that's why people find it annoying when I point out that his/her music library is not organised well, for example if the album info was missing.

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Introducing another artist worth mentioning: Michael Gungor.

If you like Chris Tomlin's songs, it's a safe bet to say that you'll enjoy Michael's album Bigger than My Imagination. Though guitar isn't my favourite instrument, I'd have to say that he has one of the best acoustic guitar-playing skills that I've ever heard. He does harmonics like nobody's business, and makes everything sound so effortless. Every single track on his album is beautiful in its own way, a few of my favourites are "Move Me", "It's Your Love" and "Doxology". The last song is a pure guitar instrumental, and I love the way how the song is sort of telling a story itself, without the input of any lyrics at all.

Move Me
Michael Gungor, Israel Houghton

Key: A

Intro:
A6/9 Em9


Verse 1:
        A6/9
And You move me just when I thought
       Em9
that I had it all together
        A6/9
And You move me just when I thought
                  Em9
that things could not get any better


Bridge:
Cmaj7                        Amaj7
I am ready, come and move me once a – gain,
Cmaj7                        A/D  D5  A/D
I am ready, come and move me once a – gain


Chorus:
        A(2) Em9
And You move me
C              D              A(2)
Closer to You, closer to Your heart
  Em9  C                D
I see clearer, so much clearer
        A(2) Em9
And You move me
C              D              A(2)
Closer to You, closer to Your heart
  Em9  C                D
I see clearer, so much clearer than before
        A6/9    Em9
And You move me


Verse 2:
        A6/9
And You move me from the comfort
          Em9
that I've come to know and love
        A6/9
And You move me to experience
Em9
the sovereignty of God


Other:
A  A(2)  G/B  Cmaj7 G/B  A  G  D/F#  G


Ending:
A  G/B  C  D  C/E  D/F#  Bm7   

and another one...

IT'S YOUR LOVE
Michael Gungor

It's like the air I breathe
It's so easy
To forget about it
Not so easy to live without it
It's like the beating of my heart
Easy to overlook
But life doesn't mean so much
Without it

I can't help it
I just keep thinking about it

It's Your love pouring like the rain
It's Your love bringing a change in me
Causing my eyes to see more of Your love

It's like the land that stays
In the middle of a hurricane
While the rest of the world
Is flying
It is the only thing
More faithful than the light
Rising from the east
Every morning

It's Your love
And it's pouring like the rain
It's Your love Lord
Bringing a change in me
Causing my eyes to see more of Your love

A Medical Issue

I pity whoever that's stuck with me in a room, or anywhere else for that matter this month, and probably early next month too.

Care to know why? It's because I've diagnosed myself with EHS (excessive HOUSE syndrome). For those who have never heard of the tv medical series HOUSE before, shame on you. Go watch it here or here.

EHS clearly explains the symptoms I'm experiencing, for example sitting in front of the computer waiting for episodes to load very patiently for 5 hours and above every day, having all 3 meals in front of the computer to ENJOY watching and eating at the same time, rewind my favourite scene in episode 15 of season 3 over and over again and hope that the ending changes, secretly hopes that there is indeed a Dr House somewhere on this planet, and lastly think that doctors have the coolest yet most miserable job at the same time.

Oh, and did I mention that one of the most prominent symptom is to blabber on and on about the episodes that I've just seen to just about anyone who tries talking to me, until all I can read on their face is "Waliu eh, this girl sure got EHS, talk so much about rubbish, like I care a bit about a tv series at all!"

So on behalf of myself, the creator, director, crew, actors and actresses of the tv series House, a big sorry if I have in any way, annoyed you or make you feel like zipping my mouth shut (or anything worse). I should hopefully recover and regain my normal self in a few weeks.