A Passion...

The Lord dropped a passion of Astronomy in my life, so I could see the beauty of creation, in the vastness of space.

A passion of Cooking; to feel the beauty of inspiration, especially when watching the bread rise.

A passion of Molecular Biology; to be awed by the beauty of nature, even in single-celled organisms.

A passion of Physics; to experience the excitement of experimenting, even when the Law of Gravity told us we couldn't fly.

A passion of Computer Science; to appreciate the beauty of simplicity, in the complexity of programming code.

A passion of Fertility Science; to experience the miracle of life, when nothing else seems to work.

And a passion of Christ; to see the glory in a Man who gave up all, so others may live...

Version 7.0

“

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

”

-C. S. Lewis

It has been a tad more than 3 years since I've started this blog, and I'm glad to say that Version 7.0 is finally here! It all started off when a couple of my friends *cough* Qiong *cough* WeiJia *cough* coerced me into writing an online journal, something which I never had the patience to do. Somehow my folly revealed itself again when my same 2 friends got me to join Facebook. Hmmm...

From its humble beginnings, it has now expanded to a collection of 3 separate blogs; this, Ropheka the Bible Blog, and the Wine Blog, which was once a university project but has now expanded to an on-going dream to catalogue the finest mid-value wines in Australia. ^_^

In my last post I promised that Version 7.0 is gona be Bigger, Better, Faster and Easier on the eyes. Well it's true, kind of. There's that BIG CROSS that jumps out at you as soon as the page loads. It's better because all my posts are now organised by themes. It's faster too because you'll be so busy admiring the beautiful cross that you won't notice the page loading. And finally, it's easier on your blinkers because I finally got rid of the hideous lime-green background! ^_^

When I came across this quote from C.S. Lewis, I realised why I eventually settled on this design. I wanted this version to be original and different so I started playing with different colours and patterns, but they just didn't sit well with my spirit. Then it dawned on me that this blog is meant to be a reflection of my life and a window to my world, not some souped up decorated porthole.

In my world, the truth is simple. It is Christ and Christ alone.

The cross is not Christ, but it represents what He has done for me in my life. The original image is a long exposure shot of a hand-held light captured in the dark. How apt this picture is as a reflection of my life! The glow of light which symbolizes my life was swinging around aimlessly in the dark, not knowing where I was going. When I found Christ, I looked back and realised that my journey, which had been outlined by the glow of light, was actually cumulating to bring me back to the cross. And like how I inverted the dark colours of the image to a white background at a flick of a switch, He changed my darkness into light.

I don't know if many out there realise this, but the cross that we wear around our necks was not meant to be a fashion statement or a fanciful piece of artwork. It was used as a torturing device. Imagine if Christ had died on an electric chair or on the gallows, would we be dangling a metal chair or an ornamental noose around our necks today? However we can take comfort in knowing that the same cross that hung Jesus Christ was the same cross that God used to offer His Son as a perfect sacrifice for us all. The cross that we take for granted today was used to reconcile us back to our Father, having obtained redemption through Christ's blood, by the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

It's tragically beautiful! ^_^

Be blessed my friends! May your darkness be turned to light; your sorrows to joy; your tears to laughter; your hopes into dreams, and your dreams into reality...

Love never gives up. Christ never fails...

The Bible Wall

6 months ago, the Lord gave me a vision. He showed me a beautiful white wall, spanning metres across, further than I could see. And on it were the books of the Bible, neatly laid out across the entire surface.

When the vision passed, I opened my eyes and in front of me were boxes stacked up everywhere. All 70 of them... I had been sharing apartments with friends for the past 10 months and my room literally had the walking space of a shoebox. I would stack boxes up towards the ceiling to save space, only to find them tumbling down in the middle of the night. That was why I never took up architecture. ^_^

As I sat on my bed looking at the boxes perched precariously towards one side, grief suddenly overcame me. I didn't know what was going on but it was as if my mind just snapped. My room became a prison and I had nothing to look forward to when I came home. I had been living in a cell for almost a year and I just wanted to give up.

Then the vision came. Innocently, not realising that the Lord is the LORD, I asked the Him how it was possible for me to live in a place, with a wall large enough to fit the all books of the Bible?

His answer was short and simple, "You'll be surprised..." And indeed I was. ^_^

2 months later the Lord found a place for me a couple of minutes from work. It had just been recently built and when the owners were about to place an ad in the papers, the Lord conveniently plonked me right at their doorstep.

It was perfect. Except for the air-conditioner that wouldn't switch on and the fridge door that wouldn't close, but let's not go there. ^_^

348 pages and lots of sticky tape later, the Bible wall was finally finished. All 27 books of the New Testament on 1 wall.

Now my next challenge - the rest of the 39 books of the Old Testament.
Lord, I need a larger wall... Help! ^_^


Thank you Father... Love never fails.

You never fail.

A New Beginning...

I bought an external hard drive a couple of months ago to replace my aging 5 year old internal ones which were running purely on sheer will and whatever bit of lubricant still left in there.

When everything was finally backed up, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that every digital trace of my entire existence; my photos, projects, articles and even my precious church sermons, would be in a safe place...

Then it died.

2 months! Nothing has ever died on me in 2 months before... Even my chilli plant lasted longer than that! (Oh, about the plant... Yes, it's dead too) ^_^

I didn't really want to believe that all my chronologically arranged sermons, my painstakingly edited photos, my drafted research articles from university and my CARTOONS were all gone. I kept visualising in my head that I would hear the distinct hum of the hard drive starting up again, but all I hear are the futile clicks and whirls of the drive desperately trying to revive itself.

I was mentally distraught and emotionally hysterical the whole day! Fortunately, the Lord helped me realise that all I had lost were just memories; events of the past that couldn't be changed anyway. Sure there were hard times, but there were also great times. However those memories were confining me instead of refining me. And it took a hard drive crash for me to break free from the ghost of my past.

Now those memories will only live on in my mind... But this time no one can take them away from me.

It's a new beginning. A start of a whole lot of new memories.

Rest in peace, my past...

Sometimes I wonder...
I wonder what the Lord has in store for me.

Sometimes I wait...
I wait for the Lord to show me the way.

Sometimes I worry...
I worry if I have the strength to carry on.

Sometimes I hope...
I hope that He'll come and take my problems away.

Sometimes I fear...
I fear that I may make the wrong choices.

Sometimes I realise...
I realise that God can turn the wrong choices into something good.

Sometimes I laugh...
I laugh at the moments when I almost fell.

And sometimes I smile...
I smile when the Lord reminds me of all the times He has picked me up.

All the while I notice...
That things may not go as well as it seems, but

Every time, You're always there for me.


Thank You, Jesus...