My first book out

Just booked out on Thursday. Well, it's been a good time for the past two weeks. Made new friends, learnt new stuff. I guess it has been a rather fulfilling and eye-opening experience so far. I hope to just take this time to share some stuff I've learnt during my time in the army.

One of the stuff I learnt was encouragement. I realised the importance of encouragement. During BMT, we had to go through route march. Route march can be tiring and discouraging if all you do is to walk and walk with a heavy load. But then, because of the constant cheers, singing, and encouragement, it makes the whole process much better and fun.

So is it with life, there are so many things that can discourage us. Trials come, bad things happen. We all need encouragement. All of us needs to be patted on the back, hugged, encouraged and loved.

Will you be an encouragement?

Giving up is not an option

I got this story from an email and I decided to share it. Hope it will be a blessing to you.

One day I decided to quit...
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality...
I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds,
I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
"In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit.
In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.
"I would not quit." He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.

Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...
But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots.
Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of My creations a challenge they could not handle.
He said to me. "Did you know, My child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said.

"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern.
Yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high!"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
He will never give up on you.

God says in Psalms 84: 11 that the Lord Jesus is your "sun (to give you warmth and joy) and shield (to protect you) and He will not withhold good things from those who walk uprighteously." No problem is too big for God to carry on His shoulder. Come to Him in prayer.

Never regret a day in you life.
Good days give you happiness;
Bad days give you experiences;
Both are essential to life.

Keep going....

God's way of saying 'Have a nice day'?

Countdown to Army

I'm going to the army on Wednesday. Many have asked me this question, 'So Marcus, are you ready?' Well, I guess it will be a new experience. Maybe it's going to be a challenging time. Well, as Ian and some others have shared, devotions will be the first to go. But, by the grace of God, I'll pull through.

I know He will sustain me through this whole army experience. I know He will protect me through everything. I know He will comfort me during times of trouble and discouragement. I know He will be there for me when I'm alone. I know God will never leave nor forsake me.

My prayer is that I'll never drift away from God but that I'll draw closer to Him. I pray that I will be a shining light in the army and that God will use me to reach my bunk-mates, army mates for His glory. I pray that I will not fall into sin or temptations but that my focus will be on God.

My life verse:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

In times of weariness and tiredness:
Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

In times of loneliness:
For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' (Hebrews 13:5)

In times of need:
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

In times of discouragement:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

In times of faithlessness:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

In times of not wanting to read God's Word:
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:2-3)

In times of lack of love:
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (Hebrews 13:4-8)

In times of prayerlessness:
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Psalm 127:1)

Video of my attempt

That's me trying to squeeze through the structure. Well, we adjusted and re-did the structure, so not so easy fall. But it was just fun that we tried to squeeze through.

Goodbye Oasis

Happy new year! This is the year 2008 and it's a brand new year. Which means that Oasis will no longer exist as a tribe. Well, we had our last tribal outing of the year yesterday and it was a fun and sad time. Fun because of all the things we did, the food we ate, the time spent together. Sad because I know that we can no longer be together as a tribe. But though we may not exist physically, but I know that spiritually we will always be Oasis!

Smiling for the camera!

I went to church at about 10 plus to prepare my wonderful grape salad. Then Xiu ying came at about 11 plus. She wanted to fry her seaweed chicken and dumplings, and we took some time trying to figure out how to turn on the gas. Finally we turned it on and it was frying time.

That's Xiuying. She looks bored...

That's Benjamin! Looks like he discovered something... Like how to eat a chicken.

That's Alex and he's grinning from ear to ear.

Patricia came after that and she brought her curry chicken. Hmmm, she made it herself and she used some kind of potatoes for the chicken and saying that it was good for curry. Jon and Sihan joined us shortly, bringing crabballs and bee hoon respectively. Alex came, with Benjamin just behind. Nuggets and fried chicken was added to our menu.

That's Jon Muk with his 'what's your problem' dao look.

I'm sorry Sihan, I couldn't resist putting this unglam picture up.

Xiu and Jon. I wonder what they are looking at.

Then, we made our way to Botanics and it was feasting time. The food was really good. Then, we started to play BOOM and police and thief. It was such a crazy time. We ran and chase and I had so much fun. I don't know about the rest though. Haha. Well, all good things have to come to an end, and it was time for Jon to go to work, Xiu and Sihan to go for dinner.

This is a super nice view of Botanics!

But before they left, it was photos time. So we snapped some pictures as a form of memory. Here are the pictures:

Our trademark!

After that, some of us decided to go to Island Creamery, but it was really crowded, so we went to Macs instead. We started to write the messages for each other and to touch up on the gifts for one another. And as usual, it was photos time for us, so we took more pictures at macdonalds.

Alex, me and Ben!

Jiaxin, Yvonne and me!

Pat and me!

Our tribe shirt! Ponytails (Pat, Yvonne, Jiaxin) and bald heads (Alex and me)

After that, we went to church to hang out and just spend the rest of the time together. Alex, Jiaxin, Yvonne, Patricia, Benjamin and myself were there at church. Yvonne brought a nice mango cake and everyone ate it so deliciously. Then, we had a time of short worship session, before Pat had to leave. After that, Alex left too, so it was left with Ben, Jiaxin, Yvonne, and myself. And we did crazy stuff.

Funny posture...

Jump for joy!

Do Re Mi. Look at our heights...

We looked weird... Cool pose?

Reach out for the stars!

We took some weird pictures of us trying to jump and catch a jump shot. We tried to balance chairs. We tried to squeeze through chairs. We played sardines. We walked in the dark. We ran up and down church. We had so much fun.

I build this structure. No kidding...

Benjamin trying to squeeze through. Watch the video.

This is the video of Benjamin's first attempt at squeezing through!

Yvonne's turn to pose with the man-made structure.

This is a step of faith. Oops, I mean seat of faith.

Jiaxin was scared, but she did it. And what you see is real. No camera tricks.

Thank God for this outing.
Thank God for Oasis.
Thank God for each one in Oasis!

It's been a superb year gone by. It will be a even better year in 2008.

'Come to Me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' (Matthew 11:28)

May this verse and this promise be your source of strength in the year ahead!

It's a free-for-all informal picture!