Sexuality Part ll

Today was part 2 of sexuality. Part 1 was just biology, i.e. what we've learnt in school.

I must admit that some of the things said today were really relevant in our lives, in our society which little or none is mentioned about sexuality. For once, I didn't know that all guys faced the same problem (yea u r not alone).

Something scared me today, I learnt that during the act itself, not only are we bonded physically but spiritually as well. No wonder God was so strict about Christians being unequally yoked with unbelievers. An example was given about a girl who was possessed by a Hindu god, when she did not even pray to Hindu gods. Later on, they discovered that she had intimacy with her Indian boyfriend which was probably why she was possessed.

Besides, in Ephesians 3 (i think), we know that the angels look to the church to learn the wisdom of God, which the church refers to us. Now when the angels witness us having more than 1 partner, by right our only partner should be our spouse and only our spouse alone. Going back to the Bible, Christ is the head of the church and we (the church) are the bride. So it makes perfect sense that we remain faithful to our spouse. So, when angels look at us having more than one partner, they may think that it's okay to serve more than one God or any other bad ideas.

Next, I learnt something really useful, not that I didn't know this before but it's reinforced. All along, when people talk about love, I would get really skeptical. True love is all about sacrifice. Period. I often hear people changing partners like changing clothes. Would you rather get a really hot partner but have nothing in common? Or would you get a partner which you grow old together?

A question I often pose to my friends is, would you still love that person when the person is 60 years old? Imagine wrinkles and anything associated with old age. They'd say NO. I personally would choose to grow old with mine, anything more is a bonus. What I'm trying to say is that we should look and evaluate the future. If you really love him/her, knowing that person is all that matters and sex would be secondary.

Christianity was meant to be radical. We're called to be salt and light of the earth, and how is this non-radical??? May we be strengthened in our faith daily. God Bless...

A Butterfly's Lesson to Life.

Credits given to http://sean-the-man.blogspot.com/2008/04/butterflys-lesson-for-nep-special.html

----G----

Slave Trader

There once were 4 slaves belonging to a slave trader. He took his slaves to a market square to auction them off.

The first slave was not of much help to his master and was auctioned off cheap.

The second slave was sold at a slightly higher price.

The third slave was sold after a few rounds of bidding.

Then came the fourth slave. This slave was way better than the others. There was a bidding frenzy when it came to this one. Everyone seemed to know that he was the equivalent of Super Man in slave form. He would finish all his chores doubly quick and very efficient as well. The starting price for this slave was 5 silver coins.

Very soon hands were shooting into the air, out bidding the previous bidder. The king, dressed as a common man that day, was among his citizens. The slave was unfazed amidst all the commotion and shouting. He looked intently at his beloved wife and only child which stood behind the wild crowd.

Quietly, the king crept towards the sobbing wife and clueless child. As he stood beside them, the wife’s sobbed uncontrollably and the child’s persistence intensified. He heard the child asking his mum, “Mummy mummy, what is daddy doing up there? Where is he going?”

His mum couldn’t find the right words to break it to her little child.

85 silver coins!!

90!!

Suddenly the king bellowed in a loud voice, “100 gold coins!”

The mob grew silent instantly. The slave trader cried out, “Sold for a hundred gold pieces!” gleefully. The exchange of the slave and the money bag was quickly made.

The slave looked at his new master and asked where they will be heading to. The king simply replied, “You’re free to leave”.

Immediately the slave and his family fell to their knees and said, “We want to serve you master”.

How then should we live?

Brands & Trends

Hello eveyone, Ian here. Im here today to talk about why people are being too self conscious.

Haha yes vanity. As you know youth nowadays are heavily influenced by trends styles yes I know I am one myself haha.Girls are into fringes covering their hair and guys like me Ronnie and maybe Alex too are into our pants pulled down low.

Yes this is the current “in thing” and we are all following it.

As you know the result of this is vanity. I am a victim myself alongside Ronnie as you all know. Vanity is something you cant describe. It somehow just comes to you when you feel self conscious and walla! You see yourself staring at the mirror 15 minutes a day looking at you yourself and thinking “wow! I look good” and the list just goes on and on.

I know not many people are like that but somehow when you just get too caught with yourself you tend to do things like that. I had my experience. It was at the Curve in Mutiara Damansara. I was wearing my red hoodie and as I entered the building I got caught up myself getting all self conscious till I walked up the escalator that was meant for people to go down!. Me with my big head continued to walk and wondered why it never got up. Then my little brother yelled “Ian! Wrong place la!”. Yes at that point I totally like embarrassed myself. While girls looked on and smiled I got down took a deep breath blushed a lil and walked. Yes that was vanity. Sad isn’t it?. If you read Archie Comics you ll notice there s this character named Reggie Mantle. Yes he is the vain pot in the storyline. And in our church s youth. I am the vain pot. Haha. Trends are fun to follow but if you get caught up it cn affect you. I for one personally think im very brand conscious.

Alongside Reggie the current in brands that attract everyone are brands such as TOPMAN, Fourskin, Zara, Pull and Bear, Converse. Yes I have shopped at these places before accept for zara. Too costly. Honestly, I think prices have gone from 30 bucks for a shirt to 90 bucks. Yes and I am dumb enough to buy them. You know why? Because everybody just wants to fit in.

Its normal to try be in the “in crowd” but getting too caught up is just a waste of time. Believe me I know. My parents take one look at the price tag of whatever I have just bought and sigh. Yes money doesn’t come easily and we have to use it wisely that’s why I save my money then blow away on the things I want. Haha. Yes I know its quite dumb but I do that now. Besides that we all tend to follow the styles that current celebrities wear. Like Justin timberlake, he started the casual smart dressing which is a t shirt with a coat over it. Yes we do look smart but look at the price of a coat in any store you see nowadays. *BOOM* everything that s in your wallet disappears. Another thing is skinny jeans. Jeans that fit your legs. It is starting to become a big hit in Malaysia although it already has in the states. In our church Ronnie brings in new styles while I twist them to werid ones. That s not the point. These jeans can cost you up to 209 bucks. Yes, you can spot them at TOPMAN. Can you believe it? For a pair of jeans!. I haven’t bought them but I have bought expensive ones. If you re rich I cant blame you. But being a slave to trends can cause you to be vain, self conscious and also become very materialistic and let s not forget the money that you blow. Im writing this because I feel I am one of them myself. So take my advice so check out some of those stores I named. Then get back to me. If you can afford it then good for you!.

-Ian-

Ed: Warning! Do not buy stuff for the sake of being “in” . We love you the way you are!

Youth Retreat 2000 and 8

In view of our current YTM objective of having more youth oriented activities, we went for a youth retreat from the 8^th to the 10^th of March at PD Methodist Centre which is of course at PD.. Haha

The attendance was truly encouraging, 37 youths got onto the bus and we arrived back all in one piece (yep, especially the cow). Boy the dorms were scorching at first, there were lizard poo all over Ashley’s bed (guess they like her), Ian complaining of toilet water smelling of stool, but 3 lucky guys slept in the bungalow (of which one of them couldn’t read time at night, and sent everyone to bed 3 hours earlier).

After cleaning Ashley's bed.. I wonder where is she, hmm..

Yea we had fun in camp alright, away from the city, away from the internet and away from parents (yea I can hear u from here). No complains about the food there though. Oh yea we played GA again and it was nothing short of amusing. People were at times scribbling a note to their mortal (I heard Ian got death threats from his death angel), buying cans after cans of Ole’ Coke (the canteen lady must be swimming in cash by now), running errands and the sorts.

We had captain ball on the first evening, group match. And later the boys played with the bouncy sphere, (yes again). Night fell and we had a really good time of praise and worship led by Ashley, everyone was just singing their hearts out, trust me it was really uplifting. Brother Chun Mun spoke about the Lord’s Supper and group discussions followed later. Personally I enjoyed my group session,

Fact #1: Michael has a very evil ‘laugh’, he’ll be the voice for any evil cartoon character

Fact #2: Ian laughs at Michael’s laugh

Fact #3: Then everybody laughs and we digress =)

(You see why I love my group?)

Peeping Ian..

The next day is Sunday, we had Holy Communion then followed by another talk. Later on, groups were busy preparing for the camp fire presentation. I couldn’t believe my eyes at the pool of acting talent we have among us! These people were naturals. Benji deserves a special mention for his maestro acting, I wouldn’t be doing justice to him if I say it here, just fuh-low-weh man! His brother can just pack his bags and go feed swines literally. Haha. You see, Benji’s acting earned him accolades, but his brother’s acting resulted in thrashing from 3 girls. =) The others worth mentioning were Cher Maine, Derrick, and oh how could I ever forget Matthew for giving the camp commandant a tasty name.

It rained later on but we gathered back at the fire place unofficially till like 2 something, actually we weren’t planning to sleep that night but the doctor sent us to bed literally so that he wouldn’t have to attend to us the next day. You should have seen the stars that night, *sighs* it’s like falling in love with God’s creation again. Most of us had heart 2 heart talks and it was good to know that we have people who share the same struggles and just to be there for us. Thank you God.

Came Monday, forget about lizards pooing on Ashley’s bad, forget about the stinky water, forget about our tiredness, we wanna stay another night! But as true as the saying goes, all good things must and will come to an end. At least we still see each other twice a week right? So with a heavy heart we said bye bye to another day together but leaving the place with a deeper bond of friendship and trust.

D gals..

Where is Kuang Ern looking?

Spot the odd one..

Awwww

p.s. Right b4 camp fire, Benji’s ‘girlfriend’ made her poor lil’ children support her all d way back from the beach

Where is it ???

What do u think the title suggests?

Treasure hunt la of course..
There'll be a treasure hunt on the 19th of April at the TTDI park which is right behind our lovely church =)
Meeting time is at 3.45pm cuz we wanna start earlier in case it rains.

And speaking of the weather, we have decided that no matter rain or shine, there'll be an activity in church. Some people do not come when the sky is dark cuz there won't be games on that day BUT if it rains in future, we'll show a DVD in church (together with some pop corn if u like).
Sooo, there will be something for you every Saturday.

And there will be a few surprises for you the coming weeks..
To find out more visit the blog every week =)
Are you game for it?