(good points quoted from “Knowing God’s Will; Biblical Principles of Guidance” [Blain, M. Smith])

Some reasons why knowledge of the future could be harmful for us:

1. Knowledge of the future could be paralyzing, e.g. Saul’s experience when he consulted the witch (1 Sam 28). God leads us as much by information he withholds as by information he gives.

2. Knowledge of the future could stifle our moment-by-moment obedience to God. We would begin to feel as though we had God “locked in” – that no disobedience on our part would prevent God from carrying out His plan.

3. Such knowledge could also stifle our moment-by-moment faith and trust in God. We would have no opportunity for the kind of faith required when we are forced to trust Him each moment for fresh guidance.

4. It could stunt the growth of the intellectual faculties God has given us for decision making. We would not develop our rational abilities to make responsible decisions.

5. It could add a dimension of boredom to our lives. Knowing what the future held would cause us to lose the sense of curiosity which adds a continual element of anticipation of our existence. Being guided step-by-step is surely a much more exciting experience than having before us an elaborate blueprint of the future.

Dan seorang perempuan yang menggendong bayi dalam dakapan dadanya berkata
Bicaralah pada kami perihal Anak.

Dan dia berkata
Anak-anakmu bukanlah anak-anakmu
Mereka adalah anak-anak kehidupan yang rindu akan dirinya sendiri
Mereka dilahirkan melalui engkau tapi bukan darimu
Meskipun mereka ada bersamamu tapi mereka bukan milikmu

Pada mereka engkau dapat memberikan cintamu, tapi bukan pikiranmu
Karena mereka memiliki pikiran mereka sendiri

Engkau bisa merumahkan tubuh-tubuh mereka, tapi bukan jiwa mereka
Karena jiwa-jiwa itu tinggal di rumah hari esok,
yang tak pernah dapat engkau kunjungi meskipun dalam mimpi

Engkau bisa menjadi seperti mereka,
tapi jangan coba menjadikan mereka sepertimu
Karena hidup tidak berjalan mundur dan tidak pula berada di masa lalu

Engkau adalah busur-busur
tempat anakmu menjadi anak-anak panah yang hidup diluncurkan
Sang pemanah telah membidik arah keabadian,
dan ia merenggangkanmu dengan kekuatannya,
sehingga anak-anak panah itu dapat meluncur dengan cepat dan jauh.
Jadikanlah tarikan tangan sang pemanah itu sebagai kegembiraan
Sebab ketika ia mencintai anak-anak panah yang terbang,
maka ia juga mencintai busur teguh yang telah meluncurkannya dengan sepenuh kekuatan.

(Dari ‘Cinta, Keindahan, Kesunyian’)

The result from a site shows:

It is still spinning in my head, how an idol can be stucked in one’s heart. Do they really awesome? (someone please tell me what is the essence of admiring idol(s)) Todays, I have some friends who really addicted to idol(s). I do remember some of them, for example, NEWS, HEYSAYJUMP, KINKI KIDS, etc. I do not even know who they are and what they did, the only thing I know is that they can “change” one’s life who only saw them via internet (in fact, some fans feel that their idol’s live is more important than theirs).

Anyway, an exciting story came out today when my friend was “crying” because a competition in which she have given her extra attention was scrapped due to the small number of participants. The competition was about designing KINKI KIDS banner (and if I’m not mistaken the prize was a concert ticket). Here is my friend’s:

I think the banner is nice (though I do not really like the faces). For my friend : take it easy, it is not the end of the world, hehe…

It’s classic story about controversy between religion and music. This post doesn’t intended to be a justification, just give you some idea of what several musics have ever convey. This review quoted from MarloByDesign’s writing on HubPages.

Madonna - “Like A Prayer”
In 1989, Madonna released her fourth album, Like a Prayer. The video for the song “Like a Prayer” was very controversial for its time. Madonna kissed a black man (who is either a saint or Jesus), dances seductively with burning crosses in the background, cuts herself with a knife, and witnesses a rape. A white man had attempted to rape a woman - and an innocent black man - who had attempted to save the woman, was arrested. This video is controversial commentary on race and religion. The video draws a parallel between Jesus suffering on the cross, and a black man suffering by being wrongly accused as well. Madonna makes a bold statement and the video was met with protest from many religious groups.

R.E.M. - “Losing My Religion”
Possibly one of the best songs by R.E.M. of all time, Losing My Religion hit the charts in 1991. The song reflects in losing religion, God, and faith. People have commented that this song describes a feeling when you have lost control over your life, and trying to seek seeking love and truth.

Joan Osbourne - “One of Us”
In January 1996, Joan Osborne’s song “One of Us” hit the Billboard Hot 100 number 4 positions. This song is very beautiful, and brings religion into music be questioning God’s presence on Earth. Joan ponders whether of not God is one of us, just a stranger on a bus, in night and day … is God among us? She asks, what would God look like if he had a face? You cannot help question if God is physically present and around us everyday.

Depeche Mode - “Blasphemous Rumours”
In 1984, Depeche Mode’s video brought the issue of blasphemy to light. The song depicts reflects God in a negative way, as sung in the chorus: “I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humour, and when I die, I expect to find Him laughing.” Considered very offensive to some, the song tells a story of a 16 year old girl’s suicide attempt and a 18 year old girl hit by a car.

¹Cell phones have made our lives worse, not better. ²Remember when you could eat in a restaurant without hearing the obnoxious ring of someone’s cell phone? ³From restaurants to movie theaters, cell phones violate peace and quiet. ⁴And not only do they disturb others, but they also distract the people using them. ⁵Have you ever driven behind someone talking on a cell phone? ⁶You can tell that the driver is on the phone because of the changing speed and swerving. ⁷The crazy thing is that people think cell phones have made their lives easier. ⁸The truth is, they have not. ⁹My sister, for example, uses her cell phone to call her office for messages. ¹⁰She works twenty-four hours a day now, thanks to her cell phone. ¹¹Then there are all the mental burdens of figuring out how to carry the phone (belt clip or phone bag?), remembering to take it along, keeping it charged, and finding a place with good reception. ¹²How do I know these things? ¹³I was once a cell phone user, but I saw the light and broke free from cell phone bondage. ¹⁴You know, it’s not called a cell phone without good reason.

(taken from http://www.mywritinglab.com/)

“Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians… like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, battle lines are being drawn. To triumph, we need results. Publishable, applicable results. Now, who among you will be the next Morse? The next Einstein? Who among you will be the vanguard of democracy, freedom, and discovery? Today, we bequeath America’s future into your able hands. Welcome to Princeton, gentlemen.”

(taken from AsiaOne Business http://office.asiaone.com.sg/mymoney/startout/20070128_005.html)

When Ms Merry Riana stepped into a car showroom in Ubi three years ago, she was just 24 but had her eyes set on her first car - a black Mercedes-Benz E200 costing $180,000.

The car salesman checked her income documents to ensure she qualified for a loan. She certainly did: In the previous year, her first year of work after graduating from university, she earned more than $200,000 as an insurance adviser - a never-say-die one who usually worked seven days a week. When she bought the car, she had just been promoted to the post of manager, training and overseeing six advisers. A lot of Ms Riana’s money is invested in her business to pay for office space, infrastructure and support staff. She has whole-life insurance policiies and unit trusts. In Jakarta, she and her husband have booked a new two-storey terrace house. She subsequently set up her own insurance firm - Merry Riana Organization - in Anson Road and now has more than 40 advisers and support staff. Last month, she received an Outstanding Young Alumni award from her alma mater, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). ‘It’s because of my initial difficulties that I have worked very hard to succeed,’ she says over tea in her office. She has found marital bliss, too. Her husband, Mr Alva Tjenderasa, 26, is a fellow Indonesian who helps her with her business.
(more…)

Welcome 2008! Hopefully this will be another good year or even better than before…

I don’t say it’s resolution or plan or something like that, just things in my head now about this year:

1. Last year I still wore a white-gray uniform in my senior high school, but in 2008 no more senior high, just university. Yup, soon I’ll go to Singapore pursuit my undergraduate program, I hope it will be nice and useful for me.  New faces, new people, new culture, new system will face me. I have to adapt and be a better achiever there (moreover I have to keep my results so that I won’t lose my ASEAN Scholarship)
2. In financial perspective, I want to try not to use my parents money anymore, I’ll start to buy and pay everything by myself. Since I got ASEAN Scholarships, I think it’s possible (moreover I can try part-time work in my spare time).
3. I have to try to be a more punctual person since I realize that I didn’t do very well before, hehe…
4. I have been single for about 4 years, hehe… Until this post published still don’t know about “something”, but I think in 2008 everything will be clearer.
5. Hmm, computing achievements, my target in 2008 is to get the ticket for ICPC World Final and also I want to try to compete in TopCoder (for now, my target is yellow upper in algorithm), hehe…

Hi, 2007 will soon be gone! But I think the memories that I made will not.

Well, thanks God who gave me a good year and now let me have a little review about this, two thousand and seven…

1. In the early of this year, I had 7 days trip to Bali with my school, it was such a great trip, Bali was so beautiful, and so were my friends (I have posted about it).
2. Soon after my trip to Bali, it was getting very busy. Due to my plan to go take NTU and NUS entrance exams, I had to join 3 private courses (Mr.BoenFie’s and Mr.Kheng’s for mathematics and Mr.Yosef’s for english).
3. February 10, my school had a Valentine Night Event, but sadly I couldn’t go there because in the same time I was on Canisius College to take NTU entrance exam.
4. I think March and April were the two busiest months in my school, yeah, I’m talking about final national exam and its preparations.
5. After my last exam, I was directly go to the 2nd National Computer Olympiad Team Training Camp in ITB, there was something sad for me just before the camp and that was my first time blogging. Passed the selection, a week after that camp, I went to 3rd camp. In the middle of the camp I have to went back to Bandung having ITB entrance test (without any preparation, hehe…).
6. Juni and July were full with my preparations since I passed the 3rd camp which mean I would go to IOI, yeah, at last!
7. Maybe August was the hottest month of this year because I went to IOI 2007 and thanks God I got the bronze! Besides that, it was my first time go to university, thought I won’t graduated from the same university (yes, it’s about ITB).
8. After that, I also invited to OSN 2007 as a jury there, an extraordinary experience.
9. Surprisingly, soon after my IOI, I got mail which said that it’s possible for me to be NTU’s student of academic year 07/08. I met NTU’s Dean of Admissions in Soekarno-Hatta and had a deal, not only that, I also got the ASEAN scholarships for my study there.
10. I passed October and November with my “short” study in pure mathematics faculty in ITB, not bad, I got new friends, new knowledges and get closer with someone (although, problems really did headache and heartache to me).
11. Finally, December, I spent my time mostly in the 2nd National Computer Olympiad Team Training Camp as a coordinator of assistants. Without any serious preparation after the camp, I went to Singapore joining ICPC Regional Contest. Not really bad, we got the 9th place.

Several special facts about this year:

1. There were 3 international competitions (APIO, IOI and ICPC).
2. Though overall I only got 7 achievements (not as 2006 when I got 14 achievements), 2007 still the best so far, coz I got my best medal so far, bronze IOI 2007.
3. Thanks God that gave me good health so that I could travel a lot. If I count every single way that moved me from one city to another one (went and back again counts as 2 single way), I did 41 single ways in 2007 (it tooks about 160 hours on the move - about 2% of the whole year): 6 Bandung-Jakarta, 7 Jakarta-Bandung, 1 Bandung-Surabaya, 1 Surabaya-Bandung, 1 Jakarta-Surabaya, 1 Surabaya-Jakarta, 1 Bandung-Bali, 1 Bali-Bandung, 5 Bandung-Depok, 4 Depok-Bandung, 1 Depok-Jakarta, 3 Jakarta-Singapore, 3 Singapore-Jakarta, 1 Singapore-Frankfurt, 1 Frankfurt-Singapore, 1 Frankfurt-Croatia, 1 Croatia-Frankfurt, 1 Bandung-Purwakarta, 1 Purwakarta-Bandung

Well, I think that’s enough “A Brief History of Brian Marshal in 2007″, hehe… Soon I’ll try to write about my resolution in 2008, but first let me thanks for everyone around me, my family, my friends, and you (who read it) for your supports and affections, without all of you the history might be different. Thank you. God bless you all…