Endless Journey

Migration

2005-08-01T15:01:00.000+07:00

Please update your links to:
http://bluechaos.blogsome.com

Need Some PHP Help

2005-05-05T11:59:00.002+07:00

Is there a limitation to man's knowledge?

For all the hard work I have done to try finishing the PHP program, it seems that everything that I have tried doesn't work. Even I have tried consulting a few boards and communities in the internet, but to no avail, their suggestions won't work on my program either. There is still one more way to go, that is to consult my friend who works in a company that have ever made exactly what program I'm working on right now. But since today is a holiday in rememberance of the Ascension of Christ, I have to wait until tomorrow to see what I can do and whether my friend can be of any help. The scripting is already okay, so the problem must lie on my network settings (DNS resolution - not working for the PHP's gethostbyname internal function of the fsockopen function) or my Apache server settings.

For you who understand PHP, here is the test code I've been trying (I am going to develop a script for sending mass-SMS messages by using GET function to access the SMS server but right now I'm just trying to route it to my localhost)...

$host = "http://127.0.0.1";
$page = "/index.php";
$fp = fsockopen("$host", 80, &$errno, &$errdesc, 30);
if ( ! $fp )
{ die ( "Couldn't connect to $host:\nError: $errno\nDesc: $errdesc\n" ); }

$request = "GET $page HTTP/1.0\r\n";
$request .= "Host: $host\r\n";
$request .= "Connection: Close";
fputs ( $fp, $request );
while ( ! feof( $fp ) )
{ $page[] = fgets( $fp, 1024 ); }
fclose( $fp );print "the server returned ".(count($page))." lines!";

And here are the error messages I received:

Warning: fsockopen(): php_network_getaddresses: gethostbyname failed in test.php on line 4

Warning: fsockopen(): unable to connect to http://127.0.0.1:80 in test.php on line 4
Couldn't connect to http://127.0.0.1: Error: 0 Desc: The operation completed successfully.

Can anyone help me fix this problem?
I think I have done it as it is written in the PHP manual (http://php.net/fsockopen), so if there are some mistakes in the code please do point out them and tell me about it.

Love Never Fails

2005-04-26T14:45:00.000+07:00

Dedicated to Juli.

Love never fails, yet there are still so many obstacles blocking our journey. Can love finally won and open us a path? I do not know but if there is such a promise given, then surely the promise will be granted for us. Our part is to just believe (see struggle to believe) and wait for His time. But before that we have to make sure that our love is true and tested, can stand through the tests of time. Many have supported us and they are standing behind us. I do not know if they will still remain when the time comes for the final confrontation to break down the final obstacle, but be still and believe in the LORD when He said that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Cinta Sejati
by Franky Sihombing / Nikita

Saat ku renungkan, hidup bersama-Mu
Sering kali ku melupakan-Mu
Ku berjalan sendiri, seakan ku mampu
Lalui tanpa kekuatan-Mu
Semakin berat beban hidupku
Semakin ku menjauh darimu
Namun ada cinta yang tak pernah berakhir
Cinta yang ku dapat dari-Mu
Tlah teruji lalui rentangan sang waktu
Kau mati bagiku
Berkorban bagi hidupku

Struggle To Believe

2005-04-24T01:27:00.000+07:00

For background information about this event please read news and articles about the Nias Earthquake in March 28th in case you haven't known about it already. You can find it spreading almost everywhere in major news sites like BBC, CNN and ABCNEWS, also if you look in Google and another search engines. Even Wikipedia and Wikinews have in-depth articles about it.

A medical team from my church has finished a mission to aid the earthquake victims of Nias. Along with medical support, they also brought food and supplies for the people, although limited because they can only carry 10 kgs of baggage per person in the plane. They went to South Nias, where relief aid has been minimum and no medical team is present there. My friend who joined the team as a cameraman brought in a 24-minutes video footage which was presented in the Youth today. It was a sad and gruesome video to watch, especially the recording when the medical team was working on tending the people's injuries and wounds, ugh I couldn't watch it because if I force myself to do it maybe I will puke, and almost all of my friends especially the females couldn't stand it too... it was too scary to watch (imagine a scene where a doctor lifts a patient's fingernail on his foot and cut and lifted some kind of infected and already blackened flesh from the finger... aaaagh!!!)

I don't know whether this is true or not, but I heard 99% of the people are Christians. I can't imagine if I was in their position, how hard would be their struggle to believe that God is still there and caring for them. Even if my current condition I am constantly lashing out at God if things don't work out correctly, especially considering there are many problems in my life lately (can you think electronic devices broken down all at the same time this month?). I think I must behave myself better and imagine if I was in their position. They still believe on God, even though they have no home, they have no food, they have no clothes, they have no medicines... and when the medical team came it was surprising to see how much will to live they have left in them. We have to learn to be content and be thankful for everything we have, everything we have here right now is a miracle from God, we are still living and breathing and not being deprived of anything.

Meanwhile, continue to pray for our brothers and sisters over there. I heard that there will be another medical team sent there soon, hopefully it can help those who are in great need. When my friend was there the people were still in tents where in one tent there could be 5 to 8 families (imagine that). At that time they were residing in the front yard of a school, but since the school was to be used again from this Monday, my friend and I do not know where these people will move to. They are homeless and they have nowhere to go. If you were one of them, can you still believe and hold on to your faith?

Reawakening II

2005-04-22T12:33:00.000+07:00

~ FOUR MONTHS LATER ~

The winding path, the ongoing road
It goes on and on, never ending, never ceasing

The road has brought me back to this place
To once again reawaken the place of memories
Living my life as an endless journey
Leaving traces behind like the steps on the sand

Oh how far and wide is the great world
Never ending and never ceasing
I will walk the journey of an everlasting road
Knowing that someday, it will bring me back to this place again

Fait Accompli

2004-12-09T01:31:00.000+07:00

I have finished everything in its time...

I have finished both the Internship Project Report and the Final Project Proposal on Tuesday and I have submitted them all to my campus' administration. I thank God for giving me the strength to make it through all this. Even though at times I feel hopeless, really He has never left me nor forsaken me, He is always with me. And now I want to give Him all my thanks and gratitudes from deep within my heart.

I have also been given another blessing. Like you know, I was sick last week so I could not join the Christmas Cantata's initial recording. But then I was given a chance to fill in the Bass Solo part, whoa. Just 8 months in the choir and called for a solo! Even though I am a Tenor voice, I was chosen because it is said that my voice has the depth that is needed for that part (although after I heard my voice on the recording I have to admit that my voice is not that good). The part that bugs me though, why do I always get to play the role of the enemy? First, I was Judas on Easter, and now I'm filling King Herod. From traitor to killer. I don't know what does this have in relation to my spiritual life, but like my friends tell me, as long as it can be a blessing for those who hear it, and it can magnify God's glory then it is okay...

Next Schedule:
16 Dec - Surabaya Gathering with Mee-a, Cheesca, Adjie and maybe some others.
18 Dec - Christmas Youth Celebration in church.
25 Dec - Christmas Global Celebration in mall including Christmas Cantata "Night of Wonders" and Classic Oriental Drama "The Missing Pearl".

Now I am waiting for the December 16th, can't wait to be together with those people. Ahhh... it is still one week later, I hope we can do everything as planned and share happiness among us.

High Fever

2004-11-27T20:07:00.000+07:00

Chette's forum is up and running again after the few hours outage a few days ago, and I am happy to be able to witness two people (Ranma Saki and Akane Hanaka) coming to God and receiving the Gift of Salvation. One more person seems to be coming near to the Truth too, so that is great news. Since we are wrestling and winning souls over Satan, the attacks to the forum has increased by a lot. The forum has been downed a few times these last days, so all the mods are encouraged to have a backup of the mySQL database each of their own. God has appointed 12 mods (including 2 admins, Chette and Philip as the owner) to be in the forum, and He Himself will be watching and guarding over it too. Right now, as of the 12, only 10 has been found out, and we are still waiting for the other two to be revealed. We do not know yet just who they might be.

The other attack was dealt to me yesterday. On Thursday, I ran under the rain for about 100+ metres from my campus' P Building to my car in the parking lot, trying hard not to soak my laptop, because I didn't bring my umbrella that time. And later that night I had a choir practice with the fellow tenors at church on 9 to 11 PM. Even though I used an umbrella that night, due to the strong wind, I was still getting soaked. So the combination of me getting soaked with the rain all-day, plus the tiredness of a hard day and the late night practice, has taken its toll too high for my body to handle.

On Friday morning, after I went to college on 8 AM I felt unwell, so I went home and slept from 10 AM until 2 PM. And even after 4-hours of sleep my body still feel unwell, my throat started to hurt and my body started to generate heat. And there it was, I was having a fever and until today, as I am writing this blog, I have not fully recovered and my fever is getting worse. I am afraid that if I do not recover soon I might lose the chance to take part on the Christmas Cantata, but I still have yet to ask the leader if it is okay for me to not join the recording but still take part on the final Cantata night (we have to dance too, so I can focus on that part instead). But that might be unfair, because June could not join the Cantata night due to her still infected throat (until today) and so she didn't went to practice and no recording either. June told me though, that she has not practiced since a few months ago so that is okay for her. But I practiced until the end, and got sick three days before the final recording day (set on Monday, do not know if it will be pushed back to Friday again), so due to my hard work and practice I might still earn the place to be there during the night.

On another account, God has helped me with my Final Project proposal. I have found the two lecturers to help me during the final project and both have agreed on my proposal. Now what is left is the internship project report, have to finish it before December 9th, I think I can make it on time if only I wasn't sick. I must recover quickly and make my reports done on time.

And yeah, there will be SOOOOOOO many people coming to Surabaya after December, 10th. I can't wait to meet Chees, Test, Ivan, Finna, and many others. Especially Chees, welcome back sis, and you will be my next sister, second one other than that sister Mee-a who have knocked my head with her lunch box many times.....

*runs* :p

End and Beginning

2004-11-22T01:09:00.000+07:00

The end of the holiday period....
The beginning of a new chapter in life....

The one week holiday has finally come to an end. From today I have to go on with my daily activites again, try to finish my internship project, look for a lecturer to oversee my final project and many things. Couple that with another added activity that this week I have to train every night at 9 PM with my fellow Tenors for the Christmas Cantata recording next week. But I do not doubt that during this week I might found something new that have been placed on my course by God. Especially considering that many things are revolving and happening around my life right now.

I am grieved by the loss of Chette's Friendship and Counseling Forum. Just when it looked like finally we would be able to have two souls subjecting their lives to Jesus to be Christians, the mySQL database is suddenly missing, vanished like vapor, leaving no traces behind. I hope that we can make another one soon, because even though the forum lasted only for a few days, I can sense that God has used it mightily for His purposes. Even stronger than the Outcasts Community I have been joining almost for a year now, I must say. Well, I can't compare them because they are there for different reasons. Obviously God will use them differently too, the one being a post-modern forum and the other being traditional style Christian forum. But as everything comes to an end, there will be a new beginning. I don't believe the wrestle for souls will just end here with the fading of Chette's forum.

And for people who have known or heard about my Christmas Cantata, please pray for it, as it seems that we won't be able to make it in time for Christmas. The choir haven't mastered the songs yet, even though recording is next week (actually it was to be THIS week but it's cancelled because we're not ready), and couple that with the lack of pianists and drama players. There is no time, but I solely believe that God wouldn't give us a 1,500-people capacity ballroom in the newest and most famous mall in my city for nothing. There must be some plans behind this and I believe that He will work mightily once we surrender it all to Him. In fact, it's for His glory that we are doing all this.

Well, I'll end this and be off to sleep now... and next time I will come with a new beginning with a new post. I'll update more about the Christmas Cantata preparation progress as anything interesting comes by.

Three Steps of Compassion

2004-11-17T02:01:00.000+07:00

Lately, after I saw so much more about the injustice in this world, I began to have a deep sadness and compassion for the people who live in this world. Some have found the salvation in Jesus, but they still live in misery, because they no longer have hope in the Lord's coming and they no longer set their eyes on what is above, they fall down during their oppression. Some others haven't even heard about Jesus at all. These facts make me more and more sad by each passing day, wishing I could do something for them. Today, I think I will share something about Compassion... the Bible tells us that compassion is not a one-step process, but in Jesus' example we can see that mostly it is a three-step process.

Bible verses to read:
- Matthews 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 18:27, 20:34
- Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2
- Luke 7:13, 10:13, 15:20

So, what are the Three Steps of Compassion I mentioned?
1. His eyes saw them (or His ears hear them) - RECOGNITION
2. His heart was moved with compassion for them - COMPASSION
3. His hands stretched forth to help them - ACTION

Some people stopped on Step 1.
They saw those people in need, they saw those people being hurt and oppressed. But because they have no love for them, they can't share those people's feelings of sadness, hurt, hunger, loneliness and many others. Their heart was not moved by compassion, so they felt nothing, and did nothing in the end. These are best exemplified by the priest and the Levite in the parable of "The Good Samaritan" in Luke 10:30-35.

Some people stopped on Step 2.
They saw, and they was moved, but they did nothing. They can certainly empathize on those people and they can share their hurt, but without any actions, their emotions turned into emptiness. How many times now we have watched the media, where we saw disastrous incidents, whether natural (like earthquakes, thunderstorms, forest fire etc) or incidental (remember the killing of the children of an elementary school lately? and also the WTC 9/11 and many other incidents), yet we do nothing, NOTHING at all to ease them of their misery? Do not think too far as to give donations or something else for them. Did you even PRAY for them? I must admit that I did not, but I came to realize that even when I cannot comfort them by giving donations, or by simply being there, GOD can. He is there, He can grant them will all they need, He can comfort their feelings and He can give them new hope. When we can't do something for them why don't we put them and surrender them in the hands of our mighty Savior?

Some people jumped over Step 2.
Yes, it IS possible to see the oppressed, and do something for them WITHOUT ANY COMPASSION. I do not know about you who live in another countries, but if you're in Indonesia, then most likely you will understand this. In Indonesia, we can find beggars in almost any traffic lights. Some of the beggars are not old, disabled people, but sometimes young, strong men who simply just won't go find any work. These guys can often threaten you to give them money, and sometimes they even go far enough to scratch your car with a nail or something. So, in the end, in order to avoid any troubles and car-scratches, you give them money, most oftenly between Rp.100,- to Rp.500,- (about one to five/six cents), Rp.1.000,- are rare occassions. Did you see them? Yes. Did you do something for them? Yes. Did you have any compassion for them? No. Is it good? NO!

So the best way to go is to have all of the three steps in order and completed. Right now, I am trying to have all these three. Sometimes it is hard to just be content with praying for the Step 3. I feel like I want to do something more, something that is more practical, more real and more useful for them than JUST PRAYING. But in reality, I know that mostly I can't do anything more, and that makes me sad. Yes people, injustice will still remain in this world, as long as Christ's not coming for the second time yet. All I can do is pray, and pray, and pray. And hope that I will be given some chance, even as little as it can be, to comfort and help those people in need around me. I want to focus my life on my surroundings, because God has given many things for me, even so many that most people around me don't have. I am thinking about how to help them, and ease them, relieve them of their pain.

Yes people, it's very painful not to be able to do anything, even though you know they're suffering, even though you know they're hurt, but still, in the end, you can do..... nothing.

I want to do something for them.... even as a tool
Yes, I want to be Your tool, if it means I can help them
Even for a little, even for a minute, even for a second
I long to help them... because You have put compassion in me
You have put Your heart for the world in me....

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

The Sword Of Faith

2004-11-15T01:55:00.000+07:00

Maybe many of you have known about this, but for those who have not known yet, let me tell you about the sword that you can use to work up your faith and learn more about the Truth. It is called the e-Sword, something I found on the 'Net a while back ago, completely free and altogether great.

If you have a PC (which of course you must!):

Go to http://e-sword.net/downloads.html
Download the "application installation", but if you have installed e-Sword previously (which I guess you won't if you're reading this article) you can just take the "update patch".
Download some Bibles. The e-Sword already come packed with a King James Version with Strong's Numbers, but those Strong's Numbers can be too much to see if you just want to read some scriptures. The Strong's Numbers will be really useful if you want to find the root meaning in the original language (whether it is Hebrew or Greek) of a word, just by hovering your mouse over the Strong's Number, the e-Sword will open up a tooltip which links to the Strong's Dictionary, complete with explanations and its original meanings. In order to avoid becoming too occupied with these numbers, I suggest you download some other Bibles, like KJV Red Letter, ASV, ESV, and whatever Bible versions you may like. Unfortunately some newer Bible versions, like the New King James Version, are unavailable. For you Indonesians out there, there IS a TB-LAI version here, just look for the "Indonesian Terjemahan Baru" version and download it. After you download it, you can just run the installer to add the Bible.
Download some Dictionaries. I suggest downloading Nave's Dictonary and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE). Both of them will give you topical explanations about the Bible, but the difference is that Nave gives you a list of Bible verse references which relates to the topic, while ISBE gives you a thorough and detailed explanation about the topic, just like a handbook or an encyclopedia does. This is really useful if you want to learn about some topics. For example you can just enter "salvation", and Nave will give you verses relating to that, while ISBE will teach you the details about the salvation topic. I'm trying some other dictionaries soon but they're mostly large so it will take some time to download and install them. But for the most of us, those two should be enough.
If you're interested to learn something more, download some Commentaries. But be warned though that Commentaries are personal opinions about the Bible from Bible Scholars, and should NOT be taken all at once, everything, zip, without any considerations, rethinkings and relearnings. The best out there for me is Albert Barnes' but if you're interested feel free to also take John Gill's and Matthew Henry's (NOT the concise one!) too.
You're set to go with what I listed above, and those things above will probably take more than 50 MB download already, but if you got the spare time and the bandwith to download more, feel free to take more from the site, but right now I'm just working with what I listed above. No need for maps, satellite photos and et-ceteras here.

For those of you rich enough or lucky enough to have a PDA/XDA/smartphones/whatever with Pocket PC 2002 or Windows Mobile 2003 installed (no PALM!):

Go to http://e-sword.net/pocketpc/downloads.html
Download either the Pocket PC 2002 version or the Windows Mobile 2003 version, depending on what OS you have on your device, and install it (of course you know how to use ActiveSync by now, right?)
Because mobile devices only have a little amount of memory available, just download what you need. Maybe you won't even have the space to put a dictionary over there, but if you got some SD/MMC there, then feel free to take everything you need and wanted. For guidelines I suggest you download the same as above, but be warned though that doing searches and everything in your mobile device is very exhaustive, and it's not fast too. So maybe you'll better stick to just a bible and a dictionary for the mobile device, and let your PC/laptop do all the extensive searching and hard work. Extensive Bible Studying using the mobile device is DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMENDED, unless you want to wait long periods of time just to look for some Bible verses.

I've been using e-Sword for my bible studies for almost a year on my PC, and now since I have got my new laptop and my hp iPAQ 4150, I installed e-Sword also on those. Having e-Sword on my laptop is certainly very helpful, because at any time and any given place I can just run the software and do some bible studying in my free time, whether it's waiting for class or just waiting for the rain to end or something. I suggest you to use it, and it's not that difficult to use, even if you're not too computer literate. If you encounter some problems or would just like to ask something about it, feel free to ask me about it. As a long-time user I might just be able to help you.

Oh yeah, and by the way, it's not me who has made this software (I wish!). Thanks to Rick Meyers for this great piece of software (and it's free too! just how cool is that?). Wish I can meet him someday.

World, Injustice

2004-11-14T10:14:00.000+07:00

As I looked into my surroundings I see the people around me, people who have been placed in the inner circles of my life. I wonder why God has placed so many people with their own problems around me. Is it for me to be thankful for my being? Or is it for me to guard them and help them, be the kind of "hero" I always wanted to be, to bring joy and happiness to all of them? What is it, then, the meaning of me for these people?

Kezia, a 17-years old girl I knew from the net. She is a kind and light-hearted person, but as I got to know her I learned that she is deaf. She cannot listen to anything at all, even more to music. She said that if she wasn't deaf she would learn to play all kinds of musical instruments and she will learn to sing. Now here's one person that I wanted so much to be blessed by the songs of my Christmas Cantata, but no matter what I try to do I know that she will not be able to hear that. Suddenly, the 1,300 people I'm going to sing in front of at the Supermal Pakuwon don't seem to matter much anymore for me. What's the use of singing in front of thousands when there's one that I wanted so much to hear me but she can't?

June, my friend's 18-years old little sister, which is also my close neighbour and childhood friend. She has faced many problems such as financial and family problems from the beginning. In the last two months things have gotten worse. She is infected with a throat disease and until now she has not been able to regain her voice back. She's now undergoing medical treatments which is very expensive, and it hurts so much for her every week after she has undergone the laser treatment. I don't know if she will be able to return in time for the Christmas Cantata, but I think it's somehow too late. No matter how much she wants to praise and sing to the Lord, she just can't.

Mee-a, my 24-years old spiritual sister. She used to be a strong woman with a very close relationship with God, and she has helped me to build my own spiritual relationship with God in many times when I was falling. Now the things that has happened to her life, somehow, has almost reached beyond her "limits line" (see 1 Corinthians 10:13 for what I mean by the "limits line"). God has promised not to let the temptations in our lives go beyond the limit line, because He promised that He will give a way out and that all of us can do all things in He that strengthens us (Phillipians 4:13). She said that when she asked God, God just answered her by stretching and opening His arms wide, showing His nail-stricken hands, while saying "Come to Me o those who is heavy laden, and I will give you rest". She knew that He has died once and for all for her problems and her sins, but considering the situation, she has begun to argue and question about it.

What about myself then? My life is not without its own share of problems. Just look at my love life, which has been kept struggling for a month, and is now dangling on a string (we still love each other but we DO know that we can't be together by the means of this world and its many conditions, man-made conditions that made them suffer by their own odd rules). Look at my internship, which only had 3 weeks left to finish it all, and I am too lazy and too troublesome to finish it. Look at my final project, where my friends have made their final proposals and booked their tutors, I have yet to find my own tutor and make my proposal, and it won't be the final one, but the first one.

"Where is the justice in all this then? Where is God's justice?", we may ask. But yesterday in a sermon, He answered it all. Yes, God is just, but He NEVER gave away nor opened His standards of justice for men. If you see the "eye for eye, teeth for teeth" thing, it is man-made justice. Justice will never ever be able to be accomplished in this world by mankind, because even since the beginning, we have not been made to be able to do that. God's justice will be found later, in His second coming, where He will be the Rightful Judge and there -and only there- will we be able to see the real justice of our God.

What can I do then? I will just walk on with my life and try to solve all of my problems, because it is part of the learning and molding process, and also part of living my life down here on Earth. Other than that, I will do my best to comfort and help all of those who are in need. Even though I can't be some sort of a "hero" or something, I will still do what I can do in my capacity as a mankind and as God's work of hand, because somehow I knew that if He placed me here, and He placed them all around me in my surroundings, then it will not be for nothing. Like a great chess player, when He put those pieces in their places, He must have His own thinking and strategy and nothing He plans will be useless or for nothing. That is not to say that we are merely "pawns" though, but if we use our freewill to surrender and follow His plans and let His thoughts be made manifest in us, then we will surely see the mighy plans and works of wonders that He has in His mind (well you wouldn't want your chess pieces to all go their own ways when you're playing, won't you?).

I will just set my mind on the things above and not things on the Earth.
I will walk by my faith and not by my eyes nor my sight.
I will do all things by trusting Him, in Him that will made me able and strengthens me.
No temptation has laid hold upon me, which is greater than my ability to face it.

...............I can do all things in Him that strengthens me!

I'm Bleeding...

2004-10-17T10:54:00.000+07:00

Alter Bridge - Broken Wings

Fight the fight alone
When the world is full of victims
Dims a fading light
In our souls
Leave the peace alone
How we all are slowly changing
Dims a fading light
In our Souls

In my opinion seeing is to know
the things we hold
are always first to go
and who’s to say
we won’t end up alone

Chorus:
On broken wings I’m falling
and it won’t be long
The skin on me is burning
By the fires of the sun
On skinned knees I’m bleeding
and it won’t be long
I’ve got to find that meaning
I’ll search for so long

Cry ourselves to sleep
We will sleep alone forever
Will you lay me down
In the same place with all I love
Mend the broken homes
Care for them
they are our brothers
Save the fading light in our souls

In my opinion seeing is to know
What you give
will always carry you
And who’s to say
we won’t survive it too

* Chorus

Set a
free all
Relying on their will
to make me all that I am
and all that I’ll be
Set a
free all
Will fall between the cracks
with memories of all that I am
and all that I’ll be

*Chorus

Listen

What should I do without you?
I am missing you so much I'm falling
I am missing you so much I'm bleeding
With my broken wings I'm doomed to fall

You were my wings from the beginning
You were my strength that made me come this far
Now that I have to let you go
What will my life be without you?

I still love you
I want you here
I don't want you to go
I'm missing you

Don't go....

Bible and Science

2004-10-10T14:02:00.000+07:00

Thou o LORD, art the Craftsman of Ages
Thy Ark of Noah rose above the raging sea
Thy Ark of Covenant was risen by Thy people
Thy Holy Temple most beautiful of all present
And we o LORD, are Thy greatest creation

For such a long time, it has been said that Christianity and the Bible contradicts the growth and truth of science. Recent studies shows that this is not true. Statistics shown that Christian nations in Europe during the middle age period (the 1800's) had the most growth in technology, science and inventions. The best scientists, whose theories are widely accepted by the world as the truth are Christians, namely Johannes Kepler, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Carl Linnaeus, Michael Faraday, Samuel Morse, Charles Babbage, James P. Joule, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Blaise Pascal and many others. Their inventions have been of great use to the world, and many of their theories go with the Bible and are widely used by Bible scholars in this days to counter the non-Biblical sciences. For example, the Second Law of Thermodinamics has been used to counter the Big Bang Theory and the Evolution Theory, and that law is widely accepted by scientist and physicians all over the world.

The most practical example we can see is maybe the building of Noah's Ark. Built around 2450 BC with a length of about 140 to 180 metres and capacity of about 35,000 metric tons, this ark became the largest and safest vessel (said of being able to withstand up to 30 metres high tidal waves) for more than 4,000 years. The "Mayflower" that was built on the 1600's was only of 28 metres length and 180 metric tons volume. The first ship that was ever made to almost pass the 100 metres length (it was 98 metres) was Great Britain's "Brunelli" on 1884, using the same proportions as Noah's Ark which was later adopted by most nautical ships' design. While the first ship that was able to surpass Noah's Ark was the famous "Titanic" on 1912 with a length of 251 metres and capacity of 45,265 metric tons. But due to the high pride of men, this ship suffered a tragic fate on his first journey. The "Titanic" was not adequately provided with security measures such as emergency lifeboats and so on, saying that "Even God cannot sink this ship". And in the end, their own words got them back when the "Titanic" ram the mountain of ice. This reminds me of an event that happened centuries before, that is the destruction of the Babel Tower due to the pride of the creators (most likely Nimrod).

Another facts can be found largely in the Bible. David was granted with God great skills in arts such as music, literature, poetry and also war arts while Solomon was granted great knowlege and intelligence that he put in arts, construction, economics, politics, administration, international commerce (the Kingdom of Israel flourished in trade during his reign) and so on. These facts shows that God is the owner of all knowledge and wisdom, and we are given access to those knowledge only by His grace and plans. Should He didn't discover it for us then men would never understand the knowlege and science as it is now. The construction of the Ark of Covenant, the Holy Tent, the Holy Temple, and how God gave rules in the Old Testament/Mosaic Law to keep the people healthy and have a good sanitation system showed how amazing is God in His knowledge.

So I conclude here that all wisdom and knowledge comes from God. If it was not for Him then men would never be able to find it on their own, and what they will find will not be truth, but false science (such as the Geocentric and Evolutionism). If we stay close to the Bible, then we will be able to discern the truths of Biblical Science and the lies and falseness of Worldly Science.

We Are One

2004-10-07T01:41:00.000+07:00

Lately I like this song so much....
Reminds me of where to go when I'm down
I will run to my Father and be with Him
Because He is in me and we are one....

We are one like the Earth and the Sky
We are one family under the Sun
We are more than we are
We are one

Lion King II - We Are One
Simba and Kiara

As you go through life you'll see
There is so much that we
Don't understand

And the only thing we know
Is things don't always go
The way we planned

But you'll see every day
That we'll never turn away
When it seems all your dreams come undone

We will stand by your side
Filled with hope and filled with pride
We are more than we are
We are one

If there's so much I must be
Can I still just be me
The way I am?

Can I trust in my own heart
Or am I just one part
Of some big plan?

Even those who are gone
Are with us as we go on
Your journey has only begun

Tears of pain, tears of joy
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride, deep inside
We are one

We are one, you and I
We are like the earth and sky
One family under the sun

All the wisdom to lead
All the courage that you need
You will find when you see
We are one

"And now I am in the world no longer, but these are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father. Keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are. And I have given them the glory which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one" (John 17:11,22)

Sushi Party

2004-10-06T00:51:00.000+07:00

Taken at 19:30 yesterday, on Hachi Hachi Bistro, Ciputra, Surabaya.
Dinner with Mami Mee-a, Felis and June. It was such a great delight.
Really ate to the heart's (and stomach's) contents and had much fun.
Teriyaki Chicken, Misoshiru, and three different kinds of sushi menus.
Added with the Choco Caramel Smoothie they were very satisfying....

Who wants to join me next time?
That's why I need you to follow me.
At about Rp 15.000 to Rp 20.000 per menu this is such a treat!!!
That makes it about Rp 2.500 to Rp 3.000 for each sushi you eat.

Juli, can't wait for our dinner here on December, 18th.... hehehe...

Warning:
These are just pictures, these are NOT edible food on your monitor!!!
So please do not drool on your keyboard or bite your monitor screen.
I am not responsible for any damages that can occur by watching this.

Night of Wonders

2004-10-04T18:34:00.000+07:00

A thousand and seven hundred men
With the three-four hundred eyes they bring
All shall be fixed on the chorals of Agaphe
On the "Hall of the Meeting" the fateful day

The twenty-fifth day of the twelveth cycle of the moon
On the fourth year past the twentieth of hundred years
In no more than six fortnights (a 'fortnight' is 14 days)
The long-awaited Night of Wonders shall begin...

All shall hail the coming of the King
A wonderful and majestic praise we shall sing
For a King that was born
In the manger forever known

Will the Night of Wonders only remain in past memories?
Shall we be abled to make the night a Night of Wonders?
With our songs of praises we raise our voices
And the Night of Wonders shall be once again....

---
The "Hall of the Meeting" refers to the "Convention Hall" that will be used by the Agaphe Choir for their stage performance on the "25th day of the 12th cycle of the moon" (December, 25th) "upon the 4th year past the 20th of 100 years" (4 years after 2000 is 2004). It is estimated that 1,700 will come hence the 3,400 eyes. The Night of Wonders is the title of the choral song to be sung by the Agaphe Choir. It also refers to the night when Christ was born, also known as the Holy Night or Christmas.

A New Beginning

2004-10-03T11:33:00.000+07:00

This is the beginning of a new life
This is the beginning of a new age
A fresh start, that's just what I needed
I will embark on a journey once again

You will find my walk here
As I will journal each of my paths here
You can find the road I take
And I will give you the lead to follow

Path of light or darkness I do not know
I will just walk through by my faith
Even if my eyes cannot see it
I know that the way is there

It has just begun...
Will you follow?

Simple note for my readers:
This is my second blog which purposely have been created for a different use than the original Heavenly Skies. While the first is intended to log all the walk in my spiritual journey with a daily language, this one is primarily more focused on my life accounts, sometimes including spiritual walks too but mostly will just consist of day-by-day journeys. The language might be a little bit difficult, because I chose to use a poetry and old-classic style of writing, just like in most adventurer's logbooks during old times, similar to what you can find in most classical RPGs and maybe the Lord of the Rings. I find it interesting to write this way, as it will add some kind of "mysticism" and "coldness aura" to this journal, like those magical-fantasy adventures (Eragon, anyone?). By other means it will improve my English by a lot, too.