Believing

It has been said, "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing." No one proved this statement to be true better than Jesus' own brothers. They were born of the same mother, raised by the same father, yet blind to the truth in front of them. Honestly though, it's hard to say that I could blame them for being skeptical about their half-brother's claims to be the Christ. After all, they were first introduced to the prophecies concerning a coming Messiah at the same time. They grew up together, ate dinner together, and most likely shared the same bedroom. Now Jesus, their older brother, was claiming to be this Christ.

Unfortunately, not much has changed today. Many times, those that have the most difficult time accepting Christ as their Savior are the same individuals that have grown up closest to the Church. They have godly mentors, are active in Sunday School, have become versed in the Bible and doctrine, yet remain miles away from truly understanding the person of Jesus. The difference between those who simply know about the Lord and those who believe in Him can often times be found in their fruit.

The fruit that is produced from a tree is dictated not by its surrounding environment, but from its inner makings. An orange tree in the center of an apple orchard will still produce oranges. In the same manner, individuals who grow up in the church and are taught the stories of Jesus, yet fail to truly believe, will never be able to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). It is with this knowledge that I challenge you to evaluate your own fruit. Does the outcome of your day-to-day living support your claims to know Christ? Or does your fruit more closely resemble that of Christ's own brothers... so close, yet miles away.

My prayer is that everyone who reads this will find his or her name written in the Lamb's book of life. I want to remind you, however, that just because you know a great deal about who Jesus was, that does not place you in His book of life. Only a personal belief in Jesus as the Christ will save you from your sins. The book of Acts records that James, the brother of Jesus, eventually came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Christ. His conversion was not on account of growing up so close to Jesus, but rather, because of His personal decision to believe that his brother was who He said He was. Do you believe?

I pray that you have not grown up so close to Jesus that you fail to understand who He really is.

~from Daily Devotions

Spaces meant to be filled

Sayings:

God made spaces between our fingers so someone else's fingers could fill the gap.

To all the girls out there: Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot. Who calls you back when you hang up on him. Who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead. Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats. Who holds your hand in front of his friends. Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you. Wait for the one who turns to his friends, and says, 'Thats Her.' "

Ever fallen for someone u can only be just friends with?

Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

Tears are words that people can't say.

I only smile all the time because it is expected of me. I'm sure people would be shocked if they really knew what was going on in my head and what I really felt.


~All anonymous sayings taken from Facebook's Socialmoth application.

Flat hunt 98% over

SIGH.

Not of frustration, but of relief.

For the past few weeks we've been flat hunting, searching for the perfect flat in Dunedin.

At first we looked for a 5 or 6 bedroom flat, thinking we'll all be together for another year. Leith Street looked promising, until we saw the crappy shower area. There were a few other; one at Dundas Street, Harrow Terrace etc. None that stood out, really.

Then came the news; we had to find a 3 bedroom instead. Finding a good one is quite a challenge/adventure. Then we had a recommendation to view the Queen Street flat.

Personally, I liked it quite a lot. Though it is pricier, up on a hill, and without a heatpump. Something like love at first sight, I guess. ;P

Then we found another 2 flats at Dundas and Forth streets. Tenants from the latter flat told us it had already been taken for next year, so we decided on the Dundas one. Kitchen was extremely tiny, but good overall. We went to the Forth St one again as the landlord confirmed it has NOT being taken yet *raises eyebrow* despite the girl saying it is. So we went to have a look, definitely not a pretty sight. It's probably one of the worst flats I've seen yet.

On the way back, I was already thinking to sign the lease for the Dundas St flat, but still something keep telling me we're meant to take the Queen St flat. More like a 6th sense feeling. Sure enough, we found out later that the Dundas St flat is already taken. I had the urge to tell everyone "I told you so!".

It looks 98% sure that we're taking Queen Street. Will go get application forms to sign lease tomorrow. Somehow right from the beginning I knew we'll stay at that flat next year. *shrugs*

***

The Forth St landlord (another one crossed out earlier as tenants say it's being taken already) just called and said it's still available. -_____-

Another contradiction. ARRRGHHHH. To view or not to view?

Flat hunting-induced headache

Finding a flat for 2008 is still causing headaches for me. Argh. Hopefully (and prayfully) we'll either (a) find a GOOD 3-bedroom flat tomorrow or (b) decide on signing the lease for the 5-bedroom flat at Queen Street if the first option fails. Should I come up with a back up plan if both doesn't work?

***

I've set a date and booked tickets back home end of this year. :)

Not sure why, but there's a certain bubbly feeling inside about going back this time. Anyway, it's set on the third of December using Malaysia Airlines. The same old MH130; same old 19 hours traveling across continents in a zombie-like state; same old yucky selection of inflight lunch/dinner sets.

Oh well. I'm just looking forward to using Singapore Airlines coming back here.

***

Facebook is getting more and more addictive. *uh-oh*

On the other hand, I'm spending less time updating those other connect groups, eg friendster, bebo, etc. No more of those invites, PLEASE. Any new invites will simply be dumped into the digital trash can.

No more CS too this week! *feeling proud of myself*

I've been busy discovering new artists. Through LastFM, mostly. It's fun: typing in my favourite artiste and click "play similar artists" and listen to free and good music, at the same finding out about talented musicians out there. That probably explains my growing collection of music. My ultimate aim is to have 50Gb of GOOD songs (not rubbish ones I'll never listen to) stored on my computer before graduation.

A belated birthday to Michelle again. You SO deserve the presents, surprises, and joy. It was fun decorating and creating the animal balloons, albeit a very last minute preparation.

Speaking of which, yes I am aware that my birthday is coming up in the next 2 weeks. You guys are probably tired of organizing birthday surprises, and I'll probably anticipate that you guys will try to make the surprise as surprising as possible. Very -___- I know. Definitely not looking forward to celebrating the big 20 at all.

Till then, I'll be burrowing my head into a pile of lecture notes preparing for the 3 terms tests coming up next week.

Less Words

To Rebec: I've joined Facebook, but I still don't see what the fuss is all about.

***

Less words, more pictures is the way to go today.

Cool-as "learning" sign & car plate number! Spotted along Ricc Rd.

We are beings fascinated by sunsets, even though it happens every day.

Excuse the blurry effect; I <3 sunsets.

All sunset pics taken on the way back from Chch yesterday.

Showcasing my new haircut & Starbunny; his ears are now almost as long as my hair! *gasp*