Dear God:

Perform a heart surgery on me O Lord,

Give me a new heart that will beat for You.

Untainted by the imperfections of this world,

One that will trust and obey in You,

Even when everything seems impossible. 

More songs:

Dennis Jernigan's "Who Can Satisfy My Soul"

[He has a very powerful life testimony]

Terry MacAlmon's "Holy Holy Holy Are You Lord"

[He's a wonderful songwriter and worshipleader]

Music is such a powerful tool for worshipping the Lord.

Ask the Lord to put a new song in Your heart today.

Be a Giant-slayer!

I went to "The Gate" tonight at Times Square Church. It is a Friday night weekly service for youths and young adults. Technically, I still fall into this group because it is catered for people from 18-30 years old. I had an awesome time worshipping the Lord and just dancing uninhibited. The speaker was fantastic tonight, and I was so glad that I made the decision to go for the service. He was amazing. His speech was so youth-appealing (he got us cheering before he started preaching!) and he had all the young people (including myself) bawling with laughter. But entertainment aside, his sermon was sharp and he didn't mince his words at all. The message was simply this: 

"You need to kill the lion and the bear in private,

before you can slay Goliath in public."

Basically, he was referring to how David from the bible killed a lion and a bear on two separate occasions when these beasts harassed the flock of sheep he was tending to. He did so in private on his own, by God's might of course. The pastor from Christ Tabernacle in Brooklyn (who is kinda plump, wearing this purple t-shirt, and perspiring profusely) likened the lion and the bear to the "idols" in our lives--basically sins like pornography, drug abuse, masturbation, pride, conceit, vanity, jealousy, etc. And to be able to do great things for God (// slaying Goliath in public), we need to tackle those sins aggressively. Additionally, if David didn't kill those creatures, he wouldn't have been able to slay Goliath. Why so? Because God showed him he could do those things, and hence, David had enough faith to stand up and declare that he was going to take Goliath on. The speaker had so many other mini messages embedded in his story of David that was so simple yet penetrating. 

After his message, he gave an altar call. And although I didn't approach the stage, I was just worshipping and crying out to the Lord from where I was (which was pretty close to the stage). For the past one year and even till now, for almost every single day, the same worry pops into my head: "I have to get into a PhD program, a good one." I'm tired. Exhausted. Fatigued to the core of my bones. I cope by either telling myself that God will decide whether I eventually get into one, by praying, or sometimes just thinking of how to do more research. Tonight I laid it at the cross again and cried out to Him. I really need to "kill" my chronic worrying and self doubt. I've been trying too hard on my own. 

I had an awesome time tonight, and most of today actually. It was raining but I had my rubber boots! I had some hiccups in the morning that got me frustrated but I eventually made it through even though things weren't as satisfactory as I would have liked them to be. Otherwise, everything was great! Yay, the weekend's here!(=

Pretty red boots! Nice??

Songs we sang at "The Gate" tonight:

"I will Search" by Israel and Meleasa Houghton from "Israel and New Breed". 

"The Stand" by Hillsong United - Sounds very pop, and I love the chorus!

"Awesome" by William Murphy - short and powerful.

My apathy towards politics...

Americans ought to be vexed over the looming economic downturn. Exacerbating this worry is the failure of the country's lawmakers to come to a consensus on the proposed US financial bailout. I wonder how different factions are going to resolve this matter, but I am far from worried out this at this point. I'm definitely more perturbed by the draft intro I need to submit in less than two week's time for my Empirical Research course. This apathy towards the current economic and political situation is probably borne out of the desensitizing effect of exposure to copious news of political turmoil and upheaval around the world. Countries are changing leaders (in some cases, ousting them), and new leaders are tasked with the gargantuan task of "cleaning up the mess" in their new governments and countries. Perhaps, I'm not so disturbed because the political situation at home is stable (ha ha, with the trinity reigning at the top, of course). Isn't it something to be thankful about? 

I'm more helpless at the fact that the weeks are flying by so quickly. It's been more than a month since I touched down in NYC and now it's autumn. The temperature's getting lower and we're seeing more and more precipitation in the coming days. Glad I finally got my rubber boots and leather boots after scouting weekend after weekend through all the female shoe sections of departmental stores. I really hope I'll be able to survive the cold. The nights now are really chilly and I dread the impending winter. Okay, going to stop here and leave you with some photos of the pasta we cooked on Wed night. 

Pesto base linguine with mushroom and italian portobello mushroom sausage

[Belle, saw the photo of the spaghetti you cooked on your blog...check ours out!]

Tucking in to what's 10x better than Pasta Mania's pasta...!

A Flushing Discovery!!!

Praise God! Found a new place to feast on Chinese and Malaysian (pseudo-Singaporean) cuisine, and to buy Asian groceries from (can find Milo, Chu Qian Yi Ding, Kai Lan, Ribena, century egg, etc.)! Yippeee... This place is called Flushing--don't ask me why, I really have no idea. It's in Queens, another borough of New York City (the others being Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, etc.). Haha, it's like a second Chinatown with a little Korea attached to it. My friend, Celia from Taiwan, recommended me to this place called Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, which is (obviously) known for xiao long bao, and so (obviously) we had xiao long bao!

Super juicy xiao long bao!!!

Eating the xiao long bao with care.

We also had pork chop noodles which was extremely tasty, soya bean milk, and you tiao. And it was cheap!! Compared to Manhattan, that is. Later on, we went to Macy's and got me a pair of red, polka-dot rain boots! I really like them. But I'm too lazy to take a photo of them and post it here. Maybe next time yah. They cost me 69 bucks. As I was paying I was chatting with this Chinese-American salesgirl who has the same last name as me, birthday in October like me, and wants to go to TC. So much details in just a while eh? That's because she spent a long time helping me to apply for a Macy's card which was unsuccessful in the end because I didn't have a Social Security Number. Meanwhile, I also helped to do translation for two customers who could only speak Mandarin. Knowing chinese is really helpful--especially in the line of work I want to do and it looks good on my CV too. I just joined this research team at the School of Epidemiology that is embarking on a project to do with Schizophrenia in the Chinese-American immigrant community and I'm in the translation team because I'm bilingual! It is a precious language. Don't lose it. 

After shopping at the Chinese supermarket (where we bought 12 packets of instant mee!), we went to have bubble tea. They have Quickly there. But it wasn't as nice as the one in Singapore. The pearls were too chewy and tasteless. I bet I can find better ones here. My mum should really set up a stall selling bubble tea near Columbia. It'll be money-raking! Finally, we had dinner at this place called Sentosa, which serves Malaysian (not Singaporean) food. We had Hainanese Chicken Rice and Curry Chicken Rice, and they were pretty good! Haha, and cheap too (again as compared to Manhattan). They have other stuff like Roti Canai (that is, Roti Prata) and ice kachang. Looks like we'll be back for more. 

Won't be missing Singapore food no more!

I'll be going back on Tuesday to meet my relatives for lunch. Apparently, I got two distant aunts (or grandaunts) there and I'll be visiting them at Flushing together with my uncle who is coming to NYC tomorrow. Got a lot of shopping to do when I go there on Tuesday. It's gonna be a 1 hour plus ride on the subway man. It's pretty far but worth the visit! 

Gonna stop here cos' I need to do some work. It's the end of the weekend; another week just flew by. Tomorrow night is the debut of the new season of HEROS on NBC!!! Yay! Can't wait. Here's a song that I really love that Times Square Church did today--very uplifting!

UNCHANGING by Chris Tomlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGbVmfOw1A

Just being random: Unpacking my dream content...

It's 6.20 a.m. here in the morning and I just woke up from a dream--haha, don't worry not a nightmare! It was bizarre yet I was able to make sense out of it. And amazing cos' I actually remember it quite vividly. It feels like I'm in one of those experiments where they get you to sleep in the lab, very uncomfortably linked to EEG machines so that they can measure the brain activity going on as you shift through various stages of sleep, and then they wake you up at a certain point and get you to relate whatever dream content that you just experienced in your sleep. I suppose that's the only way to preserve memories of dreams--to wake you and record it immediately. 

The dream made sense to me because I see many elements of it comprise thoughts that ran through my mind in the preceding day. Somewhat a manifestation of the Activation-Synthesis Theory regarding dreams that I learnt in my Psych 101 text--I really liked the chapter on dreams; it was fascinating how Freud purported that specific images in your dream (e.g., a horse) reflected certain unwanted contents (e.g., a horse would symbolize sex) that were anxiety-provoking if they found their way constantly into your conscious mind and a defense mechanism that your brain employed was to repress it (that's when it could potentially seep into your dreams). Ha Ha, I don't buy that, but I do admire his creativity and how perceptive he is as a psychotherapist. Despite his controversies, I think he is a brilliant psychologist who was very much influenced by the cultures of his time. 

The Activation-Synthesis Theory, which appears to be more scientific, seems to hold a premise that sounds suspiciously similar to what we say in Mandarin about "ri you suo xi, ye you suo meng" (idioms possess a lot of investigative value in the social sciences realm haha). Basically, scientists noticed that the brain discharges some electrical activity in the night as one sleeps, and it appears to be very random. And one theory says that it could be processing and rearranging the thought material located in the different areas in our brain. It's interesting because there are various sensing organs located in your brain and sometimes when you perceive something in your sleep (e.g., you are falling down a great height), I think (and I emphasize that this is my presumption) that the vestibular area in the brain stem that is responsible for the function of coordination and balance is activated in your sleep. It's been a while since I took Psych 101 so everything I'm espousing now is really based on my memory of what I learnt from Zimbardo (not the man himself--I wish--just the textbook he edited). But I did read it back forth several times!

Oh man, how did I get into such a long discourse about my sleep? I think I really need to put a disclaimer in my posting title. This is really very random stuff. Okay, so here goes the dream (which I must clarify should not be interpreted as having any particular meaning--it's just a mishmash of various things, both important and inconsequential, that probably went through my mind recently). 

So the context of the dream goes like this. I got into a police car (I think it should be a Singapore one--haha, if you didn't know where I used to work you would probably think I was arrested for something), and this may sound a bit moribund but it felt as though there was something to be mourned for (again, this is not prophetic, just a meaningless jumble of stuff). Obviously, someone I know, who is a cop-friend of mine (which I'm not going to reveal cos' I wanna leave you guessing haha), was driving the car. In my hand was a bunch of weed-like plants that I must have plucked from somewhere before I left. As we drove (I think it was day before it gradually became night), I opened the window to the police car (haha, I'll never be able to do what I did in reality--neither can anyone else!) and started to dump the weeds a couple at a time into a plot of the same kind of weed or grass that ran along the road that we were traveling along. The plot was sloping towards my direction so as I threw subsets of what I gathered earlier onto the plot, I could give a quick glance of the weeds that I flung lying there on the ground--the car was traveling slow enough. 

It gradually became dark and apparently the bunch of weeds that I gathered had some kind of flies residing in it and I kinda released the flies into the police car (this is when it starts to take on a movie-like quality haha--I can even remember what the flies resemble!). I was horrified cos' this is not something you want to happen when you are sitting in someone else's car, and your own of course, but this was a police car! Worse, the flies began to emit some substance that solidified into something that looked like a slice of desiccated beehive that was the size of a pencil-case. But somehow I was quite certain that it was made of cinnamon. And they just started multiplying and flying around in the car with that thing attached to them. I began to shoo them out of the window or swat them in the car. Some were smashed against the window and that was a gross sight which I shan't describe. I remember being very apologetic throughout and my friend was very kind in assuring me. We were driving along the PIE towards Bukit Batok then. 

Just when we managed to kill or release all the flies that arose, new ones that were more ferocious appeared (they didn't have funny faces or stings, they just looked like some kind of ordinary flies with nice, leaf-shaped wings). And they multiplied again and we resumed the shooing and swatting. There were some other details that I can't recall now. Soon after, the dream just ended and I woke up peacefully from my sleep. 

As I reflect on that dream, I recognize some elements which were things that either went through my mind very briefly, or were talked about in the day before. The cinnamon part must have came about because I've been eating some apple cinnamon cereal bars recently. The flies probably came about because my prof was talking about mosquitoes and how they transmit Malaria during one of my classes. The police car might have came about because I was telling some new people I met yesterday about my previous job and I clearly remembered thinking about a police car when I gave my reply. And just to wrap it up, I was reading my textbook on PTSD and here was this section on how they measured brain waves in sleep and compared this outcome between combat veterans stricken with PTSD and their healthy counterparts. Ha Ha, psychologists are always so inclined to analyze what they experience...and that's how they derive hypotheses and design good research studies to support their conjectures. 

It's 7.30 am now. Time to stop and decide whether I should go back to bed. The weather in NYC took a drastic change and now its getting really cold. Time to bring out all the sweaters and coats!

~Ciao

NEW NEWS NEWS!!!

Since the weekend, news in the past few days has been dominated by news of the Lehman Bros' demise in the financial markets and how different multinational companies followed suit soon after. Before that, the nation was glued to the ineluctable rage of hurricane Ike striking Galveston Bay at Texas. And of course, amidst all this was simply election craze as the presidential candidates enter the heat of the competition and busy themselves with strategic garnering of votes and controversial politics. The turn of events is remarkably dramatic. It is just so amazing how focus switches so quickly, and these rapid changes are exemplified clearly on the headlines of CNN's website. It is indeed an "exciting" time to be here I guess. The ripple effects of what happens here in the US is felt everywhere in the world. Even in Singapore, which is exactly 12 hrs away from here (on the exact opposite spot of the globe), the repercussions are tremendous, with the stock market plunging to the lowest point in two years. Though some of us may not grasp the gravity of the situation, all I can say is change can come swiftly and inadvertently. Please do not be alarmed; this is not an apocalyptic message. All I want to express is nothing in this world is secure, and only our faith is. 

Super hot Sunday - 09-14-2008 !!!

Hi everyone! I'm going to blog about today. It was really hot today. The weather has been a little erratic: cloudy and rainy on one day, and bright and hot on the next. Ha ha, it's been driving me nuts because I need to dress appropriately for the weather. I either end up overdressed and underdressed. So checking the weather forecast is a must before I leave the apartment. 

As per other Sundays, we went to Times Square Church today. Took some shots of the church facade and within the church:

Times Square Church located at 51st Street along Broadway

That's me standing across the street from the church!

The building is actually an old theatre so the ceiling is very elaborately designed.

This is the view from the gallery snapped before service began. The service starts at 10 am but people come here as early as 8 am just to secure seats! Last Sunday, we couldn't get seats cos' we went at 9.40 am so this week we were more kiasu! If you notice a man onstage, that's the senior pastor who was walking and praying before service. And people would gather at the altar area (below the stage) to pray every Sunday.

This was taken after service (obviously I'll be too preoccupied to take photos during service).You can see the choir onstage in their white robes and the pastor at the pulpit area. They were doing a baby dedication, so there were families onstage. And the crowds below are not extended family members. They were responding to an earlier altar call!

After church, we walked down Madison Avenue to go to the Apple Store to buy a cable for my new Samsung printer. Here are some shots taken along the way and of course shots of the Apple Store which was really cool. The place was crowded with people and according to the cashier I spoke to, he said the store opened 24 hours and it is crowded all the time (don't think he meant during the ungodly hours like 3 am though!). There were so many iPods, Macbooks, etc. displayed for people to play around with. And the store assistants, or "Specialists" really look hip, young and friendly. Ha ha, Mac is really about lifestyle and not branding anymore!

Travel by horse carriage - additional way of seeing NYC & getting tourists to spend $$

The smell of horse manure was really pungent in the air!

The mecca for all Mac fans! Ha Ha no prizes for whose fave store this is!

Apple fans - actually it's just one Apple fan, I'm not that fanatic yet!

Check out the contours of this building. Nice reflective surface too.

It's the Louis Vuitton building (rightmost building)! Fans of Louis sure must love this.

The previous photo was actually taken in Harlem. We took a walk along 25th Street to look for Havaianas. Happens that the only shop selling those flipflops is situated in Harlem. But to our disappointment, there were no male designs--now you know who we were shopping for! We didn't really take many pictures there cos' it was our first time visiting the area and we were busy appreciating the sights and sounds, and being vigilant. We were the only 2 out of 3 Asians walking around there on a Sunday afternoon--other person was this old Chinese woman selling terrapins to a bunch of Blacks...which was quite an interesting sight. I didn't dare to snap that on my cam so instead we took this pix of Popeye's...LOL!!!

After Harlem, we went back to rest before whipping up a nice pasta dinner. It was yummy!!! Ha ha, we are really perfecting our pasta...so far we have used 2 kinds of bases, marinara and pesto. Next, we'll try Alfredo! I must say, our pasta beats Pasta Mania's hands down! Watch out for photos of the food we cook in my subsequent postings! For now, photos from PINKBERRY, this hip dessert chain that has hordes of Columbia student supporters! Their desserts are simply heavenly and delectable - it's just yogurt (choose from original, green tea and coffee flavor) and select your toppings from an array of fruits and cereal!!!  

 

Haha,  just posing with my PINKBERRY! Relax, I'm not eating both portions.

Front cup: Med-sized, original yogurt with blackberries, kiwis, and Captain Crunch.

Rear cup: Med-sized, original yogurt with strawberries, kiwis, and mochi! 

Guess who ordered which... 

Answer revealed!!!

Finally made it home to set up my new Samsung printer with the cable I bought from the Apple Store. It looks nice right? But it's super heavy and takes up a lot of space!!! I was so frustrated earlier on that the paper kept jamming. And I later realized that my paper was considered "thick" and I had to alter the settings on the computer....zzzzzz....zzzz....zzz...zz. The stack of paper I bought cost me eight bucks--USD, mind you!!! 

Haha, it's super late!!! I've done it again! It took me so long to upload and format the photos. I had to drag each one to the exact spot and every time I uploaded them, they appeared right on top of my posting. Okay, shall end here...and that also marks the end of my day anyway. Just want to leave you with something that touched me during the service today...second verse of Amazing Grace. Tears just rolled down uncontrollably today as we sang it in church.

Twas' grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed...

It wasn't by chance that I got to know you, Lord. It was by your grace that I experienced fear in my heart--the fear of things around me and the fear of You, Lord--and the only way to bring relief to those fears was to run into Your wide and open arms. And by that same grace, You calmed my fears and still do today. It wasn't by chance. It was all because of Your amazing grace. 

Quarter-life crisis??!!!

Ha, when you thought you have cleared and survived all the storms of adolescence and all the decision-making you had to go through about which college to go to and which major to get into, you'll realize that simplicity is actually a myth and complication enjoys an exponential relationship with what we term "life". I'm twenty-five now (and soon to be 26), and supposing I do get to celebrate my centennial birthday, I'm probably experiencing what pop-psychology and marketing "gurus" (many are just quacks and charlatans, don't be fooled haha) would dub a "quarter-life crisis". Not that I deem myself to be in some form of crisis now. Rather I would more aptly describe the experience as an uncertainty. Most of it seems exciting now, but there's that tinge of apprehension that puts me on the edge of my seat. In the volatile and rapidly shifting era we live in, nothing's predictable and all that is secure is the unchanging nature of God's care and protection on His people. 

I'm almost nearing the end of the book of Esther in my daily devotions (and I just got to know someone called Esther from Korea, who is a pastor's daughter--how cool is that?!), and though the book never explicitly talks about God per se, it is brimming with the presence of God's divine intervention. What's the relevance to my topic? Well, just let me put things this way... sometimes we do things or are prompted to do stuff which don't seem to mean anything now or benefit us in anyway, but later on or even years later, we look back and we finally see how our earlier actions had helped us reach somewhere or serve a larger purpose. That was how God worked in Esther's life. She was crowned the queen of Persia for a reason that was probably beyond her comprehension at that point of time. But later on, everything unfolded and the true meaning behind that was revealed for the glory of God. 

I like the book of Esther. It contains so much hope in it. It helps me cope with the feeling of not knowing where or what my current activities and actions will lead to. Humans are creatures that need to know everything. We love to create orderliness in our everyday realities, and to be able to predict and control what comes our way. But the world doesn't function like that, and God doesn't operate in this manner. I'd like to think of Him like a puppet-master, shaping the way things work in our environment, and we, His beloved puppets doing his bidding (in a positive way of course). At times, we'll be like a Pinocchio, allowed some freedom to do whatever we please (and perhaps tell a little lie once in a while--white lies, of course, because we are nice people ;)). But God is creative and sometimes the plot of our lives are tumultuous and unpredictable so that the ending we savor is a dramatic sweetness. 

After talking so much, I still don't know where I am heading and whether what I'm doing now will enable me to fulfill my dreams and meet my goals. Haha, perhaps my goals aren't even God's and He's not leading me to them! He seems to be pulling me in some directions, and yet sometimes doubt creeps in and tells me that it's too difficult or it's impossible. Fortunately, I've given up wondering whether what I hope for will eventuate. Now it's simply being all ears for His instructions in my everyday life (small acts and big decisions alike) and submitting to them obediently. At the same time, praying for His will and not my will be done. I'm taking mini-steps to a greater goal and seizing opportunities that show themselves along the way, because I'll never comprehend what they mean to me and Him till the day when things unfold just as how they did for Esther.  

One beautiful song we sang tonight at "The Gate" - youth and young adults service at Times Square Church - and a song that we sang at jamming before. I really wanted to embed the video but an error message indicated that I don't have some MIME plugin--can someone tell me what that means? Haha thanks! Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_rTX23V7Q

The night they put aside their differences and sang the same tune...

Columbia University was swarming with people tonight as the two giants in the race for the nation's most powerful and coveted position participated in the same forum (but were interviewed separately; we were hoping it was going to be a political debate) at the university auditorium. Woah, the steps of Low library and the surrounding areas were packed with students like me who probably tried their luck at the lottery (that secured winners with seats in the auditorium) but weren't that lucky after all. The university placed this huge screen in front of the low library so that students can watch the forum live, and perhaps enjoy a little picnic and hangout time with friends.

The forum started at around 7.30 p.m., and we bought some sandwiches and choped our seats at a strategic location just before the screen. Scores and scores of students just crammed the area and soon every spot of empty space was filled. I would really like to upload these photos, but I forgot to bring my camera--bad timing to take my cam out of my handbag when I carry it with me most of the time--and the photos are still in the camera phone we used to snap a few shots. So some other time yah.

But anyway, you can imagine the scale of this. It's machiam Singaporeans going to Comex at Expo or Christians going for FOP. Tonight's meeting between the two senators is also especially meaningful to Columbia University. Well, maybe just the appearance of that one person that makes this a particularly significant one for all Columbia students I guess. Democrat presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is a Columbia alum and a hot favorite among the crowd at Columbia--I'm sure there are some Republican supporters though. 

Tonight both candidates were here to talk about national service. National service here does not mean draft or NS like what it is commonly referred to in Singapore. They were both at Columbia to talk about their commitment and plans for citizens to contribute in their service to the nation. Today marked the anniversary of September 11 and I suppose TIME magazine who organized this event deemed it appropriate to pay tribute to people who serve the country, and also decided to engage the candidates in a conversation about their individual blueprints for national service. It was nice because both casted down their political cat-fight for the night and in one accord rallied the nation to move beyond themselves and to serve others.

A funny moment appeared at the start when the tech crew were still fixing problems with the screening. Just as the picture came on, this Black person was shown taking to the stage to give a speech and many in the crowd, thinking it was Obama, stood up to give him a standing ovation. When his frontal view presented itself, you could just hear chuckling in the crowd. Excitement just took over and fooled by their perceptions everyone assumed the man was Obama. One could just sense the enthusiasm towards the Columbia alum in the crowd. It was hilarious seeing students jeer or scrunch their faces as McCain spoke, and observing the contrasting reactions when Obama took to the stage. And that was no surprise because when Obama spoke you could tell the difference. In my opinion, McCain's words had little substance in comparison to the university hot favorite. Obama's replies were substantiated with concrete plans and sound policy. I admired those answers. I won't say I have become an Obama fan tonight like those people wearing Obama t-shirts, but I must say that he's my preferred choice between the two. 

It's a great time to be here in America when things are shaking and reforms in the government are about to take place. People seem to be yearning for change and clear direction towards a better future. Everyone is eager to vote and waiting for elections to come so that a new government can right some wrongs and bring about betterment for the citizenry. Whatever it is, we should pray for good leadership because the US is the world's power and its influence on other countries are far-reaching and tremendous. It's going to an exciting time in history!

Now therefore, I, Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York, in recognition of this important event, do hereby proclaim Sunday, September 7th, 2008 in the City of New York:

"Prayer in the Square Day"

In witness whereof I have hereunto

Set my hand and caused the seal of

The City of New York to be affixed.

Michael Bloomberg

Mayor                                                                 

Adapted from http://www.nycprayer.org 

To learn more about "Prayer in the Square", please visit the above website.

To see the promo video for the event, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh6tlQ5KZ-4

=============================================

It's eleven-ish at night now in NYC, and I'm sitting down at my desk beginning to blog about the wonders of God I witnessed today. It was such an awesome and magnificent sight. And the intimate and powerful worship today had me yearning for more, so much that I now experience a sadness at the thought of school tomorrow and for 5 more days! It'll be a week before I return to church to join with other believers in worshipping our most-high God. Sigh... And before this I was always looking forward to school, but I guess being at church wins hands-down. 

I'm sure by now you would have guessed what I am going to blog about. Yes, "Prayer in the Square"! This morning, we went back to Times Square Church (TSC) for service. The praise and worship was equally excellent as per the previous week's, but today it was even more hyped up by the fact that thousands of people in NYC were going to take to the streets and pray in the center of one of the world's most famous locations and tourist spots, Times Square. One could just sense the excitement and zeal for God just permeate the entire sanctuary--from the main hall downstairs to the gallery upstairs. 

What I love about the praise and worship here is that everyone (at least most people) in the congregation just sings, claps, dances, and praises so loudly, spontaneously, and passionately. I mean, we all probably know what Americans are like--how they have huge and loud personalities. And the Blacks are so groovy man... their voices are so rich and their rolls (as in the singing technique, not buns) are so effortless and smooth. They are so creative and vibrant in their music. I love gospel! Each time I worship the Lord, I can't help but sway and groove to the rhythm. It's just fantastic.

Today's sermon matched last week's in its scale of depth and revelation. It was a simple illustration from the book of 2 Chronicles about King Uzziah's downfall. Pastor Conlon likened Uzziah to many people in the Christian realm today who were selling their own formulae for success, when the most basic and fundamental way was to listen to Jesus. I can't convey the message across as convincingly as Pastor Conlon does, so I won't try to do so and I wouldn't want to do it here anyway. I'm just noting this down for my own future reference.

After service, we rushed to MacDonald's (which was next door and swamped by TSC members by then) to grab lunch before we headed back to the sanctuary for a short praise and worship session prior to the walk to Times Square. Needless-to-say, it was another awesome time of singing and prayer. And all this was led simply by one worship-leader playing his guitar, with accompaniment by 2 other musicians (the choir was probably gearing up for the event). One could sense the enthusiasm and eager anticipation in the air during the prayer intercession we had for the event.

Omigosh! It's ten past twelve and I haven't got to the meat of the event! Anyway, just to give you an idea of what we did, the whole congregation marched down to Times Square holding onto little red fans (as you'll see below) under the bright sunshine, which was a contrast to yesterday's rainy evening--God cleared the skies for the event...Hallelujah! It was such a chirpy sight because many were clad in red t-shirts that were produced for the occasion. We got there at ten past two, and waited till 3 p.m. for the prayer to start. Although everyone was squeezing within the barricaded area like carrots and peas in a can, the mood was high and later on old nostalgic hymns were broadcasted through the speakers--it was so lovely and nostalgic. 

At 3 p.m., a video clip appeared on the big screen at Times Square, and shortly after, the band and choir got the crowd singing and praising the Lord. Then we went into prayer. Different people stood in the gap to pray for different needs in the USA: pastors from different denominations, an officer from the police department, a judge from the judiciary system, a military person, a freshman from Columbia, etc. And everyone was just praying along in affirmation, and singing at intervals when different singers would just lead us in song. In just that one hour, we had made a difference in the world and to the Kingdom of God. 

As I stood there, I was deeply moved by the sights, the sounds, and most of all the sincerity in the prayers. Though they blocked off the sidewalks, vehicles were allowed to drive through the area. And every time a bus (especially if it were one of those open upper deck tourist buses) drove by I just couldn't help but check whether people took heed to what was happening there. Questions rang in my mind. Would outsiders just sit up and wonder why we were participating in such an activity? And consider why we were spending one hour (technically longer than that though) standing in the hot sun (it was sunny but kinda hot) praying for others? There were also churches from different countries around the world participating with us in this prayer intercession. Why do we even bother?

Prayer is an often-neglected aspect in our lives as Christians. Corporate prayer especially. Sometimes, it can become mundane and cold. But the prayer I witnessed today will be imprinted in my mind at least for a very long time. Because I saw a true longing that came with it. Believers were joining in unison to proclaim the name of Jesus, and lifting up a banner of praise in the streets of NYC! Everyone adopted the same conviction and mentality to pray for the nation. And I was proud to be part of this prayer community. The prayer was expressive and the vision was clear. 

One of the pastors said this before we left for the event venue: "We can bring people back by spending time with You". I found this very true. Many times we rack our human brains to figure out evangelistic events or ways to persuade people to join a church or a ministry, but we often forget to seek God first. I hope that God will make me a prayer warrior, and that I'll always maintain this form of communication with Him in the good and the bad. 

Wow, it's super late--1 a.m. already!!! Okay gotta stop here cos' tomorrow got classes and I have to be up early to do stuff... Oh no... Shall leave you with this song by Chris Tomlin... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGbkeWkA64

Showers in the Big Apple today because of Hanna...

Tropical storm Hanna headed to the US East Coast this Saturday. There were no hurricanes in NYC, just heavy rainfall throughout the evening. Hanna came after Hurricane Gustav, and now the meteorological experts are predicting a new one, Hurricane Ike, to be hitting Florida soon. Can you believe that? Sunny Florida? 

The rain was messy and wet and icky. All the news stations were unanimous in their weather forecast for today, but we still moved forward with our plan to check out Fifth Ave. Haha, to our dismay, it was a horrible experience! Though it was a good break from the summer heat...

Rainy days here aren't like those in Singapore. NYC streets aren't as evenly paved as those at home--LTA has done a good job with our roads. There were tons of puddles--real huge ones--that lined up the streets. And if you weren't alert and stood at the sidewalk just by the street, you could get yourself seriously drenched. Vehicles here don't give a hoot. They just speed by real quick despite the risk of skidding on the streets. 

Fifth Avenue is famous for its designer stores and boutiques that are sprawled over the whole area. So there wasn't any large mall for us to roam about and wait for the nasty rains to stop pouring. So we walked about in the rain, each carrying our own tiny umbrellas that weren't very helpful. And we didn't have the least idea where different stores were located, so we walked on and on in the rain till we found something that piqued out interest. 

We went into Sak's Fifth Avenue--everything in there is way too ostentatious! It is a branded goods haven, so we couldn't afford anything. Then we popped into Abercrombie and Fitch, and there was this half-naked male model clad only in a pair of jeans, who was standing by the door. The store was really dim and music was blasting throughout as though they were trying to create this hip atmosphere! But the clothes were nice; I would probably go back when I feel like spending money. Next stop, we went to Niketown. Ha ha, there were four levels of Nike apparel, which was kinda neat but nothing spectacular. At least the store was spacious and not so cramped like A&F, which seemed like a crowded fraternity house!

Anyway, time for me to create a wish list. To survive the winter and harsh rainfall of NYC, I would probably need these:

1. A pair of rubber boots, Paddington Bear-style to keep my feet dry.

2. A pair of flat and presentable boots to keep my feet warm in winter.

3. A few scarves to protect my neck from the chilly winds.

4. Leather gloves to keep my hands warm in winter.

Autumn is coming soon in a few weeks and I would need these soon. An excuse to go shopping soon!

I ate a cinnamon scone that rolled on the ground!

Ha ha, how's that for a title? Nope, didn't make it up :) The plastic wrapper holding my cinnamon sugar scone fell out of my palm and onto the ground just outside my building. The next moment, I found myself chasing it like a cat after a mouse as it rolled around the floor. At that point, it didn't seem at all funny. But in retrospect, it was a theatrical sight. And rather hilarious. It was a Thursday afternoon. I was heading back to the apartment, struggling to hold onto everything including my wallet, my lunch, some napkins, and my half-a-cup of UN-hot chocolate (ha ha, that's a different story altogether--my order wasn't even a cinnamon sugar scone!). Just as I turned the key in the lock at the gate, this lady with her 18-month-old in a stroller appeared just behind me. Out of courtesy I tried to hold the door for her. Because I did, I had to rearrange everything in my palms...and then it happened--after I closed the gate. The scone dropped out of my hands, leaving the three of us--me, the mother and her 18-month old daughter--watching helplessly as it did a somersault and a series of forward rolls on the concrete ground just outside my apartment. Strangest thing was, I wasn't very much upset. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't the least bit saddened by its loss. But the thought in my mind was simply: "Who cares? I'll just eat it anyway." And I sure did. The ground seemed rather clean and the 30-second disaster didn't leave any signs of damage or dirt on the scone. So I ate it! :) I'm in New York and food is expensive! Besides, it wasn't so great-tasting anyway, so the little incident didn't ruin any special taste it had. As for the little ordering fiasco...Well, just let me put it this way. The guy who served me was a newbie on his first day of work at this mini cafe which is situated just a few steps away from my apartment building. I asked for a current (as in raisin) scone and he wrapped a cinnamon one for me. I asked for a steamed milk (nope he didn't give me a hot chocolate because he was blur blur), he told me it was out. So I changed my order to a hot chocolate, but being unfamiliar with the machine, he gave me one with three-fifths froth and two-fifths of room-temperature chocolate drink(?) Well, I didn't want to be difficult so I took the cup and added skim milk available at the counter to top it up. I knew it the moment I held the cup though it was covered; it was super light!!

The moral of the story?? I'm sure you can come up with many! I'll leave it up to you. Just wanted to blog about something light-hearted and funny (hopefully it made you smile :)). I've had a hectic week, except for Thursday when I spent the entire day on my Macbook surfing PsycINFO, and trying to derive an earth-breaking research idea (which I did not, of course). Classes have started and I'm getting busier. Ha Ha, busy getting lost like a mouse in a maze in Teachers College (actually that's a wrong metaphor to use cos' mice always seem to get out real quick because of the biological GPS system programmed in their seemingly tiny brain matter). This happened to me twice today. On the second time, my friends and I were extremely near the destination, but we derailed and ended up elsewhere only to find no one in the seminar room because the class was actually somewhere else...that was my fault, I gave them the wrong classroom (technically, I wasn't the culprit bringing us on the unneeded tour five minutes before the seminar!). The four of us who got lost together--one African American babe, half-Mexican dude, extremely tall British stud, and me, the stereotypically-petite Asian girl--should start a FB group: "If you ever got lost in TC during your first semester or still do"

What else can I update you about? School's busy and I've been pity-partying again. Citibank drove me crazy today. I was sent on a wild goose hunt because I had problems with my bank account and my tuition fees were due today! Not going to gripe about it over here. But for those of you who aren't so crazy about Singapore and are dying to get out, be prepared for less-than-efficient services overseas. We do have high service quality standards in Singapore u'know. So appreciate it. Amidst the pity-partying, there was learned helplessness. I changed my stance midway through the craziness. I prayed, "Lord, if this is going to mold me and make a stronger, fitter and better person, please give me more trials and problems." Ha ha, call it resignation, but it just makes sense to me. Why bother myself with frustration when it doesn't help? I just formulated a theory (which I haven't tested out of course; just pure speculation now). If Prof Barbara Fredrickson from U Michigan theorized that positive emotions broaden your mind intellectually and named this the "Broadening and Building" theory, then I could come up with something complementary to her theory and name it the "Constricting and Corroding" theory. 

Negative emotions like self-pity constrict and corrode intellectual thought. They erode mental resources and narrow the span of solutions one can derive. An overwhelming dose of negative emotion reduces one's rationality. 

How's that for a theory? Ha ha, the editors of JPSP probably won't buy that! Hee, now is N = 1. Wait till I design an experiment. Please don't take it for real now. I just came up with it. Maybe others have done it so take their word instead of mine. 

That's it folks! Gotta do my work and ace the courses! God bless.

Oh Beautiful Sunday!

I ought to blog about yesterday simply because I felt great about it. And simply because it felt great to go to church and worship the Lord! And also because I experienced something which I haven't felt in a long while--productivity.

We went to Times Square Church in the morning. The church had bought over this old and intricately-designed but well-kept theatre off Broadway (at least it didn't have any musty smell and the seats were not Hole-y!), and converted it into a sanctuary for believers from different denominations to come and worship the Lord. There were throngs of people streaming into the church. Apparently, the church, located in the heart of Manhattan (Duh! The name of the church explains itself yah), is home to approximately 8000 members. There were people from different ethnic groups swarming the church. It was a beautiful sight seeing African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics and Asians (I hope I didn't leave anyone out) forming this multiracial congregation and praising the Lord in one accord. It was a breath-taking sight!! Perhaps this is what Heaven will be like! 

When service started, the curtains were drawn and this massive choir appeared before us. It comprised people of different races, but predominantly Black and Caucasian, with a few Asians among them. For the whole time, the worship leader led while playing the piano. His voice was good, but what amazed me more was his style of singing. Haha, he was African American so it was very gospel and very spontaneous. He would begin each song and the choir would just join him once he gave the cue. And the way he sang certain songs (and my, they were really old songs; 1990s, 1960s, 1950s and one from 18th century!)....woah!!! I wish I could describe it but you really have to experience it for yourself. Like the song "Righteousness, Peace and Joy" from Integrity music, he began singing it very playfully and out-of-sync with the original melody but it sounded entertaining and mellifluous. I liked it! And for many songs, they just went on and on repeating the choruses in a way that didn't sound at all draggy. You would feel the music just rising up within you and you would end up singing with more and more gusto. I really enjoyed myself. I could just sway, dance and clap. It was really joyful worship!

Haha I could go on and on about worship but I shan't. You really need to be there to fully comprehend and experience what I'm getting at. Some of you are probably very envious right now...heh. I hope to join the choir in the near future and sing Black gospel style. That'll be so cool and I'll be so glad! As for the rest of the service, the Senior Pastor gave a sermon on "Pentecost went outside" (you can find it at this website: http://www.tscnyc.org/sermons.php?hl=1094). He spoke about how our practice of Christianity should model that which transpired 2000 years ago during Pentecost when spirit-filled people just took to the streets prophesying and speaking about Jesus. In essence, he was encouraging believers to allow their lives to be a living testimony of the Word of God, and not to be closet Christians. 

After service, we met up with someone to buy stuff, and to me it was pleasant. It is nice being in the company of someone else rather than simply the two of us all the time. After shopping, we parted ways with our friend, and walked down 50 streets!!! Ha ha we just walked and walked and walked. Halfway we stopped to grab a bite...then we continued. And then we thought, maybe I should get some shoes. So we walked down Broadway and found a couple of shoe stores. I settled on a pair from Aldo, a good pair of walking shoes which cost me USD 70. I think it was a good buy (or at least it serves me well to think that way since I spent that amount on it, which is not too bad actually...heh, I'm doing the self assurance thing again). And before you know it, we were approximately 20 streets from campus? And so, we thought we'll just walk all the way back. Hee that's how we ended up walking 50 over streets...the weather here is fine for walking though it can get a little hot because of the sun. And there are so many stores, you can just pop in to check out stuff you need. Or you can just go into any Starbucks along the way to have a cuppa--every couple of streets there will be one!!! They have even more outlets along Broadway than McDonald's has. It finally dawned upon me why everyone walking in the streets wore flats. I was wearing a pair of heels before I bought that pair of shoes from Aldo! What was I thinking??!!

That night, we met up with one of Rachel's ex-interns at her workplace, Ted, for dinner--a fellow Singaporean studying in Columbia. Again, it was nice being in the company of another, especially someone you feel totally comfortable with speaking your own native accent. We had Cuban food at this place called Havanna Central. After the usual introductions, our conversation revolved around New York culture, Americans, and heh the food places around Columbia, those worth trying and those that you wouldn't want to spend your money on. After dinner, the three of us walked down Broadway for a while before we went back to our apartments. And then I went back to my room to skype with my parents. 

Orientation starts tomorrow!!! And classes start this week. I'm looking forward to studying again and hopefully doing some research soon. And meeting new people!!! Hopefully I will step out and not be a social hermit. Haha, took the MBTI personality test and realized I've become an "I" (Introvert), and have relinquished my "E" (Extravert) self from almost a decade ago. Last time I did that test was probably before or during 1998!