I've found a friend who died for me

24 more hours and i would be leaving home with my family to Changi Airport, preparing for the midnight flight onboard China Airlines to Taiwan. i am quite blessed to be able to go on a holiday annually. although my family and i are travelling to an East Asian country again, it is better than nothing. my mother commented taht maybe we should go to turkey or egypt next year-a fat hope i would say, considering our family size. in fact, the farthest we have been is to korea, and it is one of the best trips. spending Christmas and New Year's day overseas is a first for me but actually i don't care. i am looking forward to try the local delights in Taiwan and hope that it would be to my liking. 7days in Taiwan equals 7 days of rush and 7 different hotels. we would be covering the whole island in 7 days, a bit of rush if you ask me. luckily, three of our hotels that we would be staying in comes with a hot spring, and all the hotels that we would be staying in would be 5-star hotels!!! however, we would be travelling with 30 more people, something i do not like because there is sure to be one family who is deliberately late. our family would always be on time and that's why we would be angry that this "royal" family would make everyone wait for them. this happened twice on group tours and it is super annoying. most likely, we would be getting our rooms first as my father's surname is ang, so alphabetically, my family will get the room first, what a relief. also, there would not be any small kids in our group, if not there would be lots of noise.

i realised that i need to be patient, especially when playing board games with others. yesterday, 4E2'09 had a Christmas party which was held at Kellie Shae's condo and only about 14 people turned up. how sad...anyway, a group of six including me went up to kellie's house to play monopoly and i lost my patience with yijun because she kept talking and did not play. looking back, i realised i was very rude because i kept throwing the dice at her(throw at her legs only).

why am i talking about all these? anyway here is the verse of the day from www.biblegateway.com:"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."- Luke 2:11-14

today, chanced upon a website:http://www.allaboutlifechallenges.org/. it gave me answers to certain questions. i realised that i should be happy that i am a Christian. i realised that i should be proud to be a Christian. i realised that i shouldn't feel embarrassed at telling people that i am a Christian(when they ask). i realised that i should not b afraid to let my family know that i am a Christian-but i also realised it is easier said than done. facebook has an application "on this day God wants you to know" i think,and i am dying to click on this application but am afraid that my brothers(who are my facebook friends) will guess that i am a Christian. it is ironic that on one hand, i want my family to know that i am a Christian but on the other hand, i am trying hard not to give myself away. i do not know why? after hearing this song "above all", i felt guilty. i have indeed casted God away when i did not need him. i begged for his help when i needed him, treating him like...crap. i have wondered many times-Why are we here? why did God create us? i finally found the answer today through that website mentioned above. God created us because it pleased Him to do so-"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." We were planned and wanted by our Heavenly Father from before the beginning of time.

please do not get me wrong,i am not preaching. i don't think i can yet anyway. this post is actually for myself to see.

here is an extract from the website above:

The Meaning of Life: An Ageless Search
What is the meaning of life? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by all of humanity since the beginning of time. It is a question naturally asked by people because they have the ability to make choices about life. The question would appear to be difficult to answer and different for every individual depending on their circumstances. It is the ultimate search for truth and purpose in life; the reason we were born, wake up everyday and exist.

The Meaning of Life: The Truth
Although people have struggled for the purpose of their existence throughout history, the answer for the meaning of life is relatively simple and the same for everyone; it is to love God by choosing to have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the simple and accurate truth about the meaning of life. There are many other ideas, definitions, theories and religions about the meaning of life that differ; however, if they do not include the above definition as the core truth, then they will ultimately be proven inaccurate and disappointing to anyone who accepts them. Skeptics that are apart from God throughout history have failed with their falsehoods of the meaning of life. However, knowing the truth is a very clear and easy answer. But, accepting and adopting the truth into your life is the ultimate life defining challenge that God wants to help you fulfill. The guide to helping you understand how to do this is the Holy Bible. The Bible clearly gives tangible examples and practical rules for living in accordance with God's plan for your life.

The Meaning of Life: How to Move Forward
Once you understand the meaning of life, the next step is choosing to follow God's plan for your life. God made you for a purpose. However, before you can fulfill that purpose, you need to establish a relationship with God. The start of a meaningful relationship with God is achieved by taking several steps, in faith, that are described in the Bible. First, in prayer to God, admit to Him that you have been living apart from Him and invite God back into your life as the leader. Next, promise from your heart to God that you will repent or change from your old sinful ways living apart from Him and will start trying to live according to God's ways. Next, ask for forgiveness from God and accept Jesus Christ, His Son, into your life as the leader and personal Savior. Finally, begin learning about God's will and plan by using your talents for His purpose in your life. God loves you like everyone else He created very much and it is the choice of everyone to accept or reject that love. If you just prayed the above prayer, then you are in harmony with God and the start of your adventure for the meaning of your life has begun.

The Meaning of Life: How to fulfill your Mission
The challenge to the meaning of life is being faithful to the calling of God and being dedicated to fulfilling the purpose that He created you for by accomplishing your life mission. The Holy Bible addresses these issues clearly to give people answers about how to lead their life in every circumstance, from poor to rich, from health to illness, from strong to weak, and from spiritual to sinful. Everybody has limiting circumstances, but God gives people this ultimate life instruction book called the Bible to help them understand how to make the right choices throughout their changing life. Also, it is important to fellowship with other Christians that have accepted Jesus for encouragement and support. The meaning of your life will ultimately be judged by God when you die. God will ask what you did with your talents. He will want to know if you chose to help others or were selfish. He will inquire if you accepted His Son Jesus and if you followed Him. Now that you know the meaning of life, choose to accept and apply this truth to your God-given abilities and circumstances. Learn about what God wants for you and submit to His plan for a life of fulfilling significance.

here is a verse: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."--1 John 1:9

work, work, work. everybody is working except me. here i am at home doing nothing but play, play, play while everybody is working, working, working. my mum had asked me a few times to go out and work but i flatly refused. she replies by saying that i should work for the experience and not be bothered about the money. however, being materialistic, i care more about the money than experience. my mum knew i was lazy and so suggested that i should work in my father's company, to help in loading and unloading goods, or work in my uncle's company with the same task of loading and unloading goods, but i refused because i don't think i would be able to carry the goods. it seems like the trend to find work after the 'O' levels, something which makes me wonder? why must people work part-time after the 'O' levels? to pass time? to earn money? or to gain experience? whatever it is, i think that it would be hard for me to go out and work part-time given my character.

today, someone asked me what is the name of the church i go to, a question which i dislike because i hardly go to church,so i feel guilty. i would still give the answer but i would not consider that church as my church because i hardly go. each time Daniel asks me whether i can go to church, i would feel guilty replying "no, can't go" because i have been to church less than five times in two years. very seldom i would be dying to go to church, but most of the times when i am dying to go, i would have something on. one example is this Saturday.i really want to go to church, but my father wants to bring my brother and to Johor to stay in some hotel as my father has some complimentary stay thing, and i do not know if i would be back in time for church. sometimes i wonder why i became a Christian.of all my family members, why me? from young, i have been exposed to a Buddhist upbringing but somehow only i chose not to become a Buddhist. Buddhist fellowship member, visit to temples, getting Buddhist items to wear, offering incense-i have done almost all Buddhist practices i think and yet i chose not to become a Buddhist. up till today,years after i accepted Christ, my family do not know that i am a Christian. i think they only suspect that i am not Buddhist. in fact, every time i am supposed to go to a temple, it would rain without fail. even inSri Lanka, it rained heavily when i visited a temple.i have no idea what it means. it can't be such a coincidence. from young, i have naively believed that Christians brainwash people and pastors earn a lot of money. i was at fault for believing such nonsense. i was at fault for not daring to tell my family that i am a Christian. even a simple question like "can i go to Youth Impact camp" took me quite a while to ask. *sigh*! i don't know how my family members,or rather my parents, will react. i have asked them if we can choose other religions and they said yes, however i highly doubt this as they've said rather hurtful (to me) comments about Christianity but i don't blame them because they don't know anything about Christ. enough about that, here is a verse: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."-1 Corinthians 10:13 God is good. in case you people haven't realised, this blog website,gracia de dios, means 'grace of God' in Spanish.

i have compiled a small list of things i would like to learn in the near future.

learning to read reports on horse-racing
learning how to play bridge
learning how to play badminton better
learning other languages like spanish and malay

i want to learn how to play bridge because my primary school friends are playing bridge now, so i would like to learn to play. i realised it is quite fun just seeing them play, so i want to learn it.

learning how to play badminton better is so i can win my maid, whom is quite good. she always thrashes me during practice sessions and i am not too happy to get thrashed everytime.

oh wait! someone just pressed the doorbell. ah, i am back. i get very irritated whenever someone presses the doorbell, especially so when my grandparents are nearer to he gate and can see who is at the gate. they would just stand there and continue watching television programmes as though they didn't hear the doorbell. how irritating is that! anyway, i have changed this thinking as most likely, they would not know who the person is, so they would not open the gate. however, i am rather fed up with their morning routine.

wake up
on the TV
read newspaper
have breakfast
go to room
go out

this is for grandpa. next is for grandma.

wake up
on the radio
read newspaper
have breakfast
ask me "have you eaten"

...and so on. what irritates me is that my grandpa does not watch the TV program but occasionally glances at it but the volume of the TV is 40, disturbing those who are still sleeping. likewise for my grandma-turn on the radio but never listen. turn on radio but ever listen is okay, just don't let the volume be too loud!!! once, our whole family just got into the car, the car engine was just turned on and we heard a sound- a familiar fart sound coming from my grandpa. we immediately said "oooiii!" and he had the nerve to say "buay chao lah". what the heck right. anyway, i don't really care about all this anymore, i guess i am used to all these noise. what still irritates me though is my grandma's without-fail question: "have you eaten" in teochew. want to eat you eat lah, i hungry i will eat what. coming home from school, reading newspapers in the morning, lunchtime, dinnertime, "have you eaten??" it makes me very irritated. aaaaaaarrrggghhh!!!!!!!!!!! however, its nice to have more people in the house and i am grateful for that.

i still remember this particular verse though i read it quite long ago.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."--Romans 12:1

i am finally back to posting. i was too carried away studying for the 'O' levels as well as playing hard after the 'O' levels. it is simply wonderful after the exams as i can do anything i want. i still haven't thought of any birthday present for myself. my mum states that birthdays and christmas presents have budget of $50 each. over the years, my brothers and i have combine the two budgets and sometimes make use of this budget to persuade my mum to get that present. for instance, the purchase of some present which costs $55 perhaps would still be bought if my mum is there. if my dad is there, we can "accidentally" overshoot the budget by quite a lot. this year, i intend to get a PSP which costs about $200 and below i think, so i shall overshoot my budget and hopefully my mum would be willing to fork out the money. there were some discussions about getting a new puppy at $200 but it was definitely all talk and no action. our current dog, latte, was supposed to be the responsibility of my brothers and i, but as we shifted house, this responsibility shifted to our maid too such that she took care of latte while we played with latte, instead of the other way round.

last month, i found my very first Bible which was missing for seven years. somehow when we shifted house, the Bible followed too. what is amazing is that this Bible as thrown away twice, and yet it manged to appear in my room, in a place where i would always take thins from. how can i not see the Bible if it is in that place. i think someone put it there, and there are only two likely suspects, the two fellas who threw away the Bible. however, both have different religions, so why do a non-christian want to give the Bible back to me indirectly when they expressed anger during the "Bible-throwing session"?? i choose to believe that the Bible that was returned indirectly was an act of God. if not, i can't explain why after seven years plus the moving of house can lead me to finding this Bible.

on to the next thing, i am trying to learn how to read the results of horse-racing, it seems fun and challenging to learn something new. The New Paper has always dedicated a few pages to horse racing and its results- the only newspaper that does this i think. anyway, sports is getting more and more interesting, with scandal(Tiger Woods), expensive footballers, F1 and whole lot more. t seems sports players are earning more and more as the yeas go by. from a $1000 footballer in 1977(Trevor Francis) to a $30m footballer(andriy shevchenko) in just 30 years. sports has evolved and i can't wait to see more evolution.

Manchester United' loss to Aston Villa is saddening. firstly, i support this club. secondly, the match is played at Old Trafford. thirdly,aston villa have not won at old trafford for about 20 years. the unfamiliar back four, th lack of fighting spirit and the determination of the visitors are what i think won the match for The Villians(nickname of Aston Villa). however, we std a great chance at winning the Premier League title for a fourth conscutive time as bitter rivals Liverpool are out of the title race surprisingly early, Arsenal lack the experience and Chelsea are the only strong contenders i think. hence this year's title race is just a fight between two teams while the others fight for survival or a champions league spot.