beeees and revival.

quite a lot of good movies to watch lately. i caught moliere with melody 2 weeks ago. it was surprisingly good and funny! i never thought a french film can be that funny. it's something about the french language and their overwhelming passion and occasional stuckup-ness that makes me think that humor isn't in their genes. all that plus films like a very long engagement, which was really a very long (movie) engagement. moliere was based on the real-life french playwright who was great at writing funny plays. it was a poignant take on his life and how life mimicks drama and drama mimicks life.

just now my nokia sister had free VIP passes to the preview of bee movie. which was HILARIOUS. ohman. i'm so glad i got to laugh so hard and not care about the guy beside me who was merely chuckling at some of the movie's greatest moments. i could draw many many parallels with ratatouille. because these days cartoons are all chip off the old block. the same formula. just a different animal. one's a rat, now it's a bee! but still i enjoy it a lot. and i appreciate the mountains of spoofs and satire and spin on issues and social norms of us humans being reflected on bees. and humans being big-hearted enough to laugh at ourselves. (: haha. some parts were so funny, like the appearance of sting, and a mosquito being a lawyer ("i'm already a blood-sucking parasite and now i'm just doing it with a suitcase!") and the police shooting winnie the pooh with a tranquilizer as he tries to eat his honey while piglet watches by the side, stunned.

and many other movies coming up. including the R21 release of lust, caution, stardust, the meryl streep/tom cruise lions for lambs, the tom hanks/julia roberts/aaron sorkin-written charlie wilson's war, the john cusack grace is gone. anybody interested in any of the above call me!

as i think about it, i do really support the writers with their strike, hoping that this drastic measure will drive their supposed employers to pay them their dues. because without these talented writers, there wouldn't be movies like these. there wouldn't be those great tv shows that we love. and it's not really the actors that play the most significant roles. and hollywood has some of the greatest and most underrated writers around. just look at the amount of publicity the emmy awards get compared to the creative emmy awards or the writers guild awards.

why am i still ranting on and on instead of studying? after 3.5 years as an undergrad in singapore, this is the final lap of exams. and i have less than 2 weeks to the start. i know somewhere down the road i'm gonna miss this. probably when i'm sick and tired of working and being an adult with tons of responsibilities, that i'd miss being a student again. but right now, i just need to focus. focus. focus.

i'm quite upset that i'd be missing YAG retreat. the pre-retreat message on saturday was very very uplifting and insightful. pastor preached from Psalm 143.

Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land.

Answer me speedily, O LORD;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
In Your mercy cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.
- Psalm 143

it's sometimes amazing to hear messages and lessons that are derived from one psalm. and lessons are in its entirety and insightful and practical. and it really takes a trained eye, ear and heart to pick out these lessons. because i know i can't do that when i read the Bible.

this psalm speaks about how David, as king, encountered both external and internal problems and afflictions. and how he was distressed and overwhelmed by those mounting problems. and he prayed to God for revival of his spirit. but as you can read from the Psalm, he only prayed for revival at the end.

and before revival, he prayed for God to hear him.
then he remembered how God delivered Him and he meditated on God's works.
he subsequently prayed for deliverance and God's leading and teaching.
and after all these, he then prayed for revival of his spirit. and this revival is for His name's sake! again! i mean, God revives our spirit and makes us stronger to face the problems of this world for the sake of His name and not ours! He has this higher purpose for us and we have a place in His will.

and it's wonderful to learn how prayer is not the answer to everything, and i can totally relate to that because that's how i feel sometimes. and in order to learn how to pray properly for His guiding hand and to pray for strength and everything else, pastor has taught us from a new perspective about prayer and revival.

and guess what, this is just the tip of the iceberg. and i'd be sure to grab the mp3 recordings.

on a concluding note, i'm getting really excited about christmas. with the sense of urgency of practices for choir and actions to learn and songs to memorize. not to mention the diverse musicality of our concert this year, spanning so many different genres and styles. but more importantly, i'm getting really happy about celebrating christmas this year after a year of SO many happenings and being away from Bethany half of the year. and thinking about what christmas means to me this year and what next year entails. (: