o v e r f l u o

Some thoughts from reading this book of the Bible recently. The book is mainly Solomon and his beloved expressing their love for each other. "... when I found the one my heart loves.  I held him and would not let him go."  –Song of Songs 3:4 When I first read this verse, I was quite enraptured by it – wow, what a love. Holding on and not ever letting go. This is the kind of love we should have for God. But reading it now, I realise it does show, unabashedly, love for a person.  Sometimes, we over-analyse and relate everything back to God. While it probably does relate back to God, we shouldn't skip the immediate, explicit meaning as well. Here, the woman tells us clearly that she has one – King Solomon, a man – her heart loves, and she held him and would not let him go. It is a love that she basks in and is proud to proclaim. Come to think of it, it's like marriage. Where a man and woman come together before their family and friends to proclaim – i...

I never set out to have all of these. All the goals people say we must set – I never had those. I could have been single for a long time, willingly. I was focussed on my honours thesis, serving in OCF, just loving God. Then He interrupted me. God interrupted me. Though it took time, my heart was opened up to this idea – the idea of a romantic relationship, the idea of having someone to lean on,  and He gave me someone good . So yea, I never set out to have all that I have. But God has given to me. And I am grateful. --- Shot on film by Mei and Mingyao.

At lifegroup we've been doing a series based on the book "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. It puts forward the idea of: What if marriage was more to make us holy than happy? It's not that marriage will not have happiness – we  will  experience that. But rather, it's that the primary aim of marriage is to grow us as Christians towards holiness.  Personally I think parts of the book apply to anyone in a committed romantic relationship. Christian or not, marriage can  make us better people if we choose to let it. (Friendships too, but perhaps to a different extent). Marriage is a "circumstance" where we live in such close proximity with almost every part of our lives involved with the other, that that will test us and in turn, shape us. Here are a few quotes from Chapter 3 of the book. • • • S A C R E D  M A R R I A G E One of the cruelest and  most self-condemning remarks I've ever heard is the one that men often use when they ...

I think the people I will miss the most... are those who have loved me the most. Not for selfish reasons, but because I know I have gained so much from their love, that I will feel its absence so much; and I also owe these people so much. Is there a love that you are indebted to? I have so many, and so much. #soloved #soblessed #sograteful

You know those quotes about finding someone who doesn't want to change you? I agree that I want someone who "loves me as I am", but, I wouldn't want to stay the same either. Because I know I have countless faults, and that one person who loves me would be someone I trust to be accepting of my faults, yet patient and gentle in making me a better person. I wouldn't want to be the same person I was ten years ago. In romantic relationships and friendships alike, true, honest love can make us all better if we let it.

"Similarly, I also think of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. The situation may be more fantastical than in Win Win—these are walking, talking animals, after all—but it’s still the marriage between Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) that grounds the story, giving it a maturity often lacking in children’s animated films. Mrs. Fox is the deep breath to Mr. Fox’s over-caffeinated enthusiasm. She slows him down. She helps him see where he’s gone wrong. And, most importantly, she helps him grow and take responsibility for his actions. It’s in this sense that Fantastic Mr. Fox develops a recurring theme of Anderson’s—namely, that commitment can be a catalyst for maturity, a bridge from childhood into true adulthood." From Relevant magazine's article on marriage in movies (relm.ag/wev3uzo).

What is so powerful about love? It is choice. You choose who you will love. You choose how you will love. You choose if you will love. Doesn't that make that even more amazing that God chose to love crazy people like us? He must be a crazy God :)

You know what's one thing love does? It shows me how ugly I am. For the other to give me so much love, to show so much goodness without wanting any back in return; what I give cannot be compared. It shows me how ugly I am. In contrast to how beautiful that person is, it shows me how ugly I am. I guess. In seeing how ugly we are, we can then see how much we are lacking and in need. That's kinda what happens when we get to know God better. We see how much He loves us, how much He has given to the undeserving us, and so we see how ugly and in need we are. In the light of His beauty, perhaps we are motivated towards beauty. Because. How can we not respond to such a love? While love helps us see our ugliness, maybe we will become better. Because of love. Because of love. Happens with people too, btw. Whether from God or man, love is love. Love works the way it works :)

Powerpuff girls you rock! Waking at 10am on a Saturday morning in time to catch it on TV was always a good thing :D And I remember watching this episode! Love Makes the World Go Round Open your eyes and take in everything that you see Look at all the colors, red, yellow, blue, & green We can take an airplane and fly across the globe Look down upon the colors, everyone come on, let's go Because Love, love, love, la la love La la love makes the world go 'round Love, love, love, la la love La la love makes the world go 'round Open your ears and listen what the world has to say Hear the birds & bells and you will have a brighter day Everyone has a special song deep inside their heart If you want, you could sing with us, it's the perfect place to start Love, love, love, la la love La la love makes the world go 'round You can't hurt me with the things that you do I'll pick up dandelions and I'll give them to you < I like this line especially much...

Something interesting from boundless by Candice Watters who reviews the book What He Must Be...If He Wants To Marry My Daughter . Go read the article if you're interested. Boundless has a lot of good stuff. An excerpt: ...a young man must be ready to represent his family before God (as a priest), represent God before his family (as a prophet), meet the needs of those in his household (as a provider), and place himself between his family and all who would do them harm (as a protector). -- I guess for now, the most important thing when it comes to the area of relationships/marriage is - work on yourself. Don't worry so much about who the right person is and when the right time will be. Just focus on being who God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do now. Then in the future, you'll better be able to serve each other in a healthier relationship. And things always work out fine somehow because God's got perfect everything :)

I discovered how to record stuff on my mac, without having to use a plug-in! Thanks to Joy, because of the session we spent singing and recording PL songs, with Eunice! :D Ah I feel so silly, because I've been recording on my super lousy quality phone! However, better quality also means amplification of the imperfections. Heh. Now, to figure how to compress the recording because they currently hold at about 20MB each. Going to Melbourne this time is painful, unlike when I first left five months ago in February. Maybe because I haven't had enough time to actually properly say hi to everyone and everything here, and I already have to leave. It's kinda queer. But anyways, I am excited to go back. To see what God has in store for the next semester in Melbourne! I know it's gonna be an awesome sem :) My Keds, alike Little Red's red Birkenstocks: signature – in that we wear them (almost) all the time. My Keds are killing my feet, because I have worn them out so the cushio...

Supposed to be writing an essay. But am procrastinating, reading articles from Boundless . If you are feeling bored, or you're interested, well here are some I just read - What Girls Wish You Knew What Guys Wish You Knew Defending "The Cost of Delaying Marriage" Girls Need Girls (Since we're having OCF Girls/Guys Night :] ) Single While Active Seven Myths Single Women Believe Not Your Buddy - "Close male-female friendships can be fun and engaging, but are women putting their emotions at risk?" Pray Boldly - Praying in faith for what you want. Okay sorry - girl bias. Btw, for people who um don't know me well/haven't read this blog for long, when I talk about relationships, it's not cos I'm obsessed about them okay. haha. But yea, I.. sort of have a heart for this area. Click on the "Relationships" tag below this post if you want to read more. Among what you find will be quotes from the insightful Elisabeth Elliot.

We worship God best when we love well those He has placed us in relationship with. We love God best when we love each other well. –Mary Beth Chapman + Steven Curtis Chapman

I usually like a simple, plain desktop. But clutter once in a while is nice :) - I watch TV, and I see a couple kiss, and I wonder how they do it. As in... If I were an actress, and a role required me to kiss, I wouldn't do it. Why? Because I think kissing is something intimate. It's something reserved for a couple. (I'm not talking about your mommy kissing your forehead when you were five before she tucked you in, said goodnight and turned off the lights.) I wouldn't kiss just anybody. It's weird to talk about kissing. But anyway. The same goes with wearing less than one should. I don't get how actresses bare their bodies for a scene. I mean, MANY people are going to see you in the buff - it's not nice! You may have what the world would define as a perfect body, but seriously. When less than __% of your body is covered up... only your spouse has the right to see it. When you bare yourself for all, it's like lowering your worth? Like you're saying it...

Some people have been asking what would be good material on the topic of romantic relationships, be it to read, do a study on, or as guidance for being in a relationship for the first time. So here are a few I'd recommend, taken from a list I've read/heard so far. Check out the synopsis' at the links provided: 10 Keys to Choosing a Life Partner by Pastor Benny Ho. (Click on the link and choose Resources for the audio.) Out of all the messages I've heard about the topic of relationships, this is the best. It's the most "whole" message I've received, encompassing pretty much every basic thing you need to know about this topic. However, while practical, it is not personable, unlike most books on such topics which usually give examples based on personal experience. It's very similar to Ravi Zacharias' I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebecca which has both the book, and an audio which I think you can download. Both this and Benny Ho's glean lessons fro...

Passion and Purity Elisabeth Elliot Isaiah 25:9 “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him.” It was unspeakably worth the wait. While purity before marriage, as Jim and I learned, consists in holding ourselves from one another in obedience to God, purity after marriage consists in giving ourselves to and for each other in obedience to God. - And I played the silly Nintendo Wii and DS! Silly fun. But yes fun.

Passion and Purity Elisabeth Elliot Nothing was harder for a woman in love to endure and nothing was stronger proof of the character of the man Jim Elliot than his restraint of power... Unless a man is prepared to ask a woman to be his wife, what right has he to claim her exclusive attention? Unless she has been asked to marry him, why would a sensible woman promise any man her exclusive attention? If, when the time has come for a commitment, he is not man enough to ask her to marry him, she should give him no reason to presume that she belongs to him. - There are different levels of intimacy. The intimacy a girl and a boy share should be different at stages of when they are • a boyfriend-girlfriend couple, • engaged, and • married. (Which is why I do not like Facebook's "almost married" thingie which couples tag, when they're not even engaged.)

Neat - that bookshelf. I'd like my room to be like that. - Passion and Purity Elisabeth Elliot “”Keep your distance,” I say to women. Recognize that fundamental anomaly of human nature, that we prize what we cannot easily get. We take for granted, we even come to despise, that which costs us no effort. The bicycle given for Christmas will not be prized like the bicycle bought with the money earned by delivering newspapers for two or three years. … If there is one reason why sex has become dull and a bore, it is that it is commonplace. It’s available anywhere, everywhere, to everybody who is looking for it. Nothing is kept in reserve. No pleasures are saved for the wedding night, let alone for the bride and bridegroom exclusively.” - But of course, I like my present room too. It also has a lot of books. And I just bought more books today!

I attended a course, Engaging Youths Through their Culture and there were two main thoughts in my mind. 1) I am still very much a teenager. 2) Every parent should be attending this! Srsly. Because well, parenting is not an easy job. And parenting teenagers is defintely not easy. And only if more parents understood all these things about teenagers. My parents did a pretty good job :D There's a verse somewhere in the Bible which says something about parents being the pride of their children. When I first read that I had to re-read it to make sure they didn't mean the other way round. Then I realised that yes it's true - that while children are the pride of their parents, parents are the pride of their children too. Cos see if children are well brought up, they can be proud that they had super parents (super in many ways). - Passion and Purity Elisabeth Elliot God knew that giving me Jim when I wanted him would not provide the far more important training I needed for things t...