Jean-Luc's Thoughts...

Campus Challenge

2006-05-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured, I would post my thoughts on Campus Challenge, a conference run by AFC that went from last Friday until today (Monday) at Peterborough.

What is Campus Challenge? For me, it has equipped and challenged me to be a disciple of Jesus Christ on campus and really has spoken to me about leadership which I have not looked at before. The speaker? Allison Siewert, the drama coordinator at Urbana 03, who spoke truth into my life. Have I been trying to live that comfortable "Good Christian Life" that I have forgotten what truly matters? Am I so worried about how others view me as that it acts as a wall and prevents me from truly being who Jesus was? Being a Christian isn't easy. Jesus was never easy. He made friends with the undesirables of society (homeless, prostitutes, tax collectors), overturned merchant tables in the temple courts, stirred up the religious leaders of the day, and just about defied all common conceptions of what was seen as "right" for the sake of truth.

Christianity was never about Dos and Donts, but rather, it is about being the completely yielding of yourself to God's will regardless of others.

Ultimate Injustice

2006-05-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

I guess, I wanted to write down some thoughts I had about what it means to be a Christian, or as I would like to say, a disciple of God most High. I've often forgotten how undeserving I am of the ultimate injustice that I have been graced with: that is God sending His son Jesus Christ to die in my place so that my sins deserving death could be redeemed. When I really think about it, there is nothing that is worth complaining about when I myself have been undeservingly given such grace by God. What can I do in return for Him? There is absolutely nothing I can do to repay the debt that I owe for God's salvation.

But God does not look for me to repay the unrepayable, but rather all He wants is my all and all to worship Him and glorify Him so that others may also see how I have been blessed and how they are blessed as well by this ultimate injustice. As Matt Redman says it, worship is "the all-consuming response to the all-deserving worth and revelation of God."

This is just the chorus to "Jesus paid it all", but I find so much truth and revelation to it:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Freedom...

2006-04-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's so close... I can almost smell it... =)

Running

2006-04-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

I must say, I sometimes enjoy a good run. Its effect on your mind to take away the stress and mental tiredness works quite well. So, if you haven't had a good run this week, go and have a jog =).

Personal note: accomplished personal best of 10 km of continuous running and 1 km of walking today (cooldown)

=)

Music + Silence

2006-04-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

What is music? To me, it is an extension of a feeling, message, or atmosphere. It is an outlet by which we express what's in our minds or hearts in an artistic format which can universally be understood to all those who have ears. Without the core, I feel, music is useless but rather a random collection of frequencies that interact with our eardrums.

What differentiate, (in my opinion) good music from bad music? The message. That is exactly why, I don't listen to pop music, because the messages it tries to portray is either: a) love, b) not being loved, c) self idolizing, d) random crap. Occasionally, there is pop music with substance, but not often.

What about music without words? That is the beauty of music. It doesn't require words. It can be understood by anyone, whether it is a sad melodious piece of music, or high energy music.

Despite, the title "music", I believe this applies to all forms of art.

Second of all, I've been practicing just spending several minutes a day in complete silence (or as silent as possible). I really think it is key to clear your mind of everything that distracts you in your daily life, and just to think about what life is all about in general. I'm not talking about like some "art of zen yoga relaxation new-age breathing" stuff, but rather just taking a few minutes each day just to reflect. Try it, if you aren't already. =)

Man from Calgary

2006-04-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

I doubt anyone probably reads this except for myself, but I would just like to dedicate this post to my man Kevin Lee (aka Calgary). He's been a great leader in my eyes, not in terms of the loud outspoken type but rather someone who really walks the walk and leads by example. Take care back in Calgary, and... Go Flames Go!!

Church

2006-04-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

I know it's april fool's, but don't worry, this post is april-fool's-free.

I'll start this post off by I guess saying where I come from. My family started going to church when i was a young age of five. Initially, the reason my parents brought us to church was because they heard "church makes your kids grow up good".. whatever that means. (FYI, it's not church that makes your kids grow up good, it's only through the realization that you as a parent can only do so much but that it's all ultimately up to God's hands). Well, I've been in a church for about 14 years of my life, and I will honestly say, church does nothing to change your life, but it is only Jesus Christ that can truly change your life so much, that you can say you are born again.

Now, I'm not saying church is not good for you. Church is absolutely KEY to growing as a Christian. It's integral that you go to church not just for the service alone, but to fellowship to one another, to pick someone up when they are down, to be picked up when you are down, and to share your spiritual journey with other people.

I know a lot of people have been hurt by the entity of the church, and many harbor deep resenting feelings against it. First of all, I believe the church isn't perfect. In fact, far from it. Who makes up the church? Perfect people? No, but rather ordinary people like you and me. No one is perfect. It's sometimes hard stay part of a church, because you have been hurt by it, and I personally can say I have been hurt by it myself. As hard as it may seem, sometimes you have to step back and think. Is it really about me? Have I really ever thought how can I serve others instead of how others serve me? This leads me on to my second point, which is that it's not really about going to a specific church b/c "They have good worship music" or "There are a lot of cute girls/guys to pick up". It's not about what I can get out of the service, but about what I can put in. This is usually a hard thought to swallow as Western Culture dictates individualistic thinking. As a personal testimony, I can say that often times, the more I devote myself to God and give what I have to Him, His blessings on me multiply tenfold, and even more.

So as I close off this blog, I guess a personal thought of mine is that am I going to church for the right reasons? I personally don't know exactly what the answer to that should be, but I do believe giving back to God has been one of my personal reasons.

Back!

2006-03-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

It's been 7 months since I last blogged, but I've decided to come back to blogging, because I find, it actually helps slow the frantic pace of life down, just enough for me to collect my thoughts and really reflect.

I guess, I'll start by talking about the MIE 415 design project. The past 5 days, I have spent approximately 70-80 hours in the computer lab, working franticly at our group report which was due yesterday. After finally handing in our project, several of us were just chilling outside MC building. It was a beautiful day, and was around 4pm, and I was just lying there on that stone block column thing people sit on outside MC and I was just looking at the sky, and for once in a very long time, I realized what a beatiful world we live in that God has created. If you haven't been outside enjoying the great weather that we have been blessed with the last couple days, DO IT NOW!

Second thing, I think I'm gonna blog about is relationships, most specifically dating. Just a bit of a background about me: I am 20 years old now, and I have never involved myself in a relationship or dated or anything. I'm as single as the number one. Why? Simply because it is not time yet. God has planned my life in advance, and I do believe that if He wants to me to be in a relationship with that someone, then it will happen. Secondly, I believe that I am still in the process of maturing my thoughts and views on relationships. It goes against common beliefs, but relationships really aren't about what I can get out of it, but rather, what can I put into it. The next best thing to being loved, is to love. I admit, there is still a long road of maturing ahead, but it's definately worth it for me.

Finally, a bit of thought on humility. I think people sometimes have the wrong idea of humility. It isn't about being polite. It isn't about saying, no I'm not really that smart, when someone compliments you on a test. It isn't about words, but rather, your entire self has to have it. And because of that, it results in an outflowing of a selfless humble character whose actions reflect such a person. I admit, I myself haven't been completely humble; I have always been taught to be proud of what I have accomplished, for example such as music. It's not responding like "oh, no i'm not that good at ___" but rather thanking someone when you are complimented, and realizing that it is not your talents, but something you have been blessed and gifted with by God.

summer... work, vbs, fellowship, softball

2005-06-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

well... i haven't updated in a while... mainly because I have been somewhat busy (in a good sense) this summer

I guess I will list the activities I am involved in this summer in order of number of hours per week it takes up for me:

1) Volunteering at the lab for Professor Mandelis.
Working with an environmental sensor and incorporating a laser heat wave generator and conducting experiments with it. Not the most exciting to say the least, but hopefully I plan to get 300 hours of work experience this summer. In addition, I am actually somewhat learning how to actually use CAD to apply to designs in real situations.
2) Playing softball for TCBC Sanctuary in the CCSA league.
I'm basically the youngest player on the team (19) and the average age of the team is around 27 approximately... I'm actually enjoying playing on a team with older players because I haven't really gotten the chance to actually talk to and know some people other than people around near my age. In addition, they have a lot of experience and wisdom not in only softball, but in life in general that I believe can be a great asset for me. In terms of physical abilities, they may not be youthful and energetic, but their sportsmanship, experience, and desire to have fun is there and that is what CCSA is about. In terms of actually winning, last year we lost all our 10 or so games and we, so far, lost 2 games already this season. I must say I have extremely a lot of fun playing and losing because it's just putting that hard work and effort into the game that is rewarding. It is just different from winning games but knowing you aren't putting your full effort into it. Well, I hope I can grow maturely in the game and just become a better player at it.
3) Swimming at Hart House.
I sprained my ankle right after on the day of our last exam (thermodynamics) playing soccer with my MIE buds... I have been trying to keep my ankle in good shape and trying to let it continually heal by not putting to much strain into it. I haven't been able to run which is my usual exercise that I do, so I started swimming at Hart House. I'm basically, as you would say, a n00b swimmer. I can swim, but not fast. All these old people passing me all the time hehe... But my goal is just to improve as a swimmer and just to get some good exercise and be fit and stay fit for this summer.
4) Mandarin Kids fellowship
Every Friday, I help out Ruth and Kwan as well as 3 high school guys (Eric, James and Lucien) whom are non-Christian but volunteering to help out in handling a room full of energetic young kids. Because the parents of these children attend a Bible study upstairs, they usually bring their kids to church as well. I don't know anyone there and do feel a bit out of place there, but I find it is really rewarding just to be able to serve the kids and hopefully be a positive role model for them.
5) VBS Drama team
I decided to step up and lead and coordinate the drama and thankfully Chung has decided to help me out in that field as well and co-lead with me. I hope that I can really push my creativity to bring some meaningful drama that teaches them visually about God's love and just to have fun doing it as well.
6) CCF
Just some small groups at CCF and actually large group CCF that I'm part of and attending. It's just pretty chill and it's just fun to hang out with some cool people ;)
7) Worship team
Occasionally I am helping out with the worship team at our church playing guitar and (maybe?) singing additional vocals to support the vocalists. I'm somewhat of a temporary replacement for Bernice on guitar for Ivan's team since they need a guitar and she's gone for the summer. I just hope that once again I can improve my skills as a guitar player and just play some meaningful music.

Other than that, I hope to go back to BC for 2 weeks probably sometime in July and visit my parents whom I do miss quite a bit. That's all!

Photos section!!

2005-05-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

I just spent 2.5 hours adding tons and tons of photos... it's on the menu and using msn spaces to host the photos... so check it! yo

Sacrifice? or Gain?

2005-05-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

First of all..

I just thought it was an honour to be able to help out with this for a worthy cause.

Lately, I have been thinking quite a bit about what being a Christian means to me. There are those that would say being a Christian would mean going to Church, saying prayers to God, don't drink, don't go clubbing, surround yourself with Christian people 24/7, do all these Christian activities, etc... If that was true, I'd be believing in a religion, where I would believe that by doing good works I can earn myself heaven/nirvana etc...

Now, there are a lot of things that go on in a club, for example ... If you were a male, for example, you could get drunk, start dancing with some random girls and next thing you know, spending the night with them. I don't believe that is the right way to act... that is against what God has created me to be... Would this be something your future wife, the one you share an intimate relationship with, would that be something you would like her to know about?

I have a passion for music... and I enjoy most forms of music, because it is the only form of language that we can all universally understand despite skin, race, colour, culture, and language. I would personally rather lose my sense of vision over my sense of hearing... There is just something about music that I love so much... Now one genre I started to enjoy in the past several years is EDM (electronic dance music) and mostly the non-mainstream type. I have discovered so much variety and flavour in this type of music: from groovy latenight house, to blood pumping breakbeats, from chill latenight house to psychadelic goa, from emotional uplifting trance to percussion driven techno. I have been a top-40s radio fan before... but after listening to EDM, I cannot say I can find anything in top-40's as enjoyable to listen to...

Now, what do most EDM listeners do?? Clubbing! Partying! I must say, I do enjoy listening and dancing to some loud exciting beats on incredible sound systems... U love just moving and spending my energy on music that I love.. But I do know there are morales that I need to keep. I would be lying if I could say I could go to a club without seeing a girl dressing seductively...

We each have our own personal struggles that we sometimes need to surrender... For me, it is lazyness... Overcoming my lack of desire to be productive... For others it may be television, for some it may be their boyfriend/girlfriend, and yet for others it may be clubbing...

Nowhere in the Bible does it say "thou shalt not club" so does that mean we shouldn't club at all? No. Does that mean we should club all the time? No. Does that mean we should only club sometimes? No. God has things in each of your lives that he may want you to surrender. Often, these things are the hardest things that you would want to give up. But trust me, God will fill your life with so much more if you only allow yourselves to keep things that are taking up room in your heart that could otherwise be filled by God's love.

For me, what does that mean?
I will only go to clubs and parties that God has allowed me permission. If God speaks to me and tells me I shouldn't go to a club or party that night, then I shouldn't go. As hard it may be, it really all depends on if I am willing to sacrifice a night of dancing and music to be filled by God's love.

There has been many things I've given up in my life, and as restricting as it may seem, it has enabled me to fill those areas in my life with God and instead of being restricted by "JL shouln't do this" it has been replaced by "JL doesn't desire to do this anymore because God fills that empty gap". Many times I have had to give up something in my life, but everytime I have, God has blessed me many times more. Maybe this would take control of my life and I would need to give up clubbing one day... If anything is taking a hold of you, I suggest you let it go...

What I've found, is that by "giving up" certain things, I've actually not lost something but gained the fulfillment that God brings into my life.

Are you ready to trade in that something that is holding you back, for that something better?

This isn't some hokey religious stuff I am talking about... This is the truth... God is the truth...

You can either believe me to be saying absolute crap and that I am crazy, or just maybe, what I am saying is true. But personally, I know without a doubt, that God exists, and He is real... Trust me... he has helped me pass my Solids course from a 30% to a 57% which has basically been a miracle... He saved my life and my sister's life in a car accident once...

So... is JL full of crap, or is there maybe truth in what he says??

Think about it... =)

What would you look like...

2005-05-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Original

Baby

Child

Teenager

Older

African

European

Indian

Australiopithecus (Apeman)

Drunk

Try it out yourself!
http://www.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~morph/Transformer/

Pics: Robot arm Trials

2005-04-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

The first 3 pics are from my group's... Team RED

The others are from other groups... Enjoy!

Pics: from tradeshow

2005-04-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

My Group's poster... Avalanche 54! (snowboarding)

My Group [from left to right: Me, Bernard (B-mac), Brendon (Dr. Colasco)]

Cooper, Conte, Zacarelli's group (gardening)

Brent with his long beautiful hair and his (wildlife photography support)

Richard Mills (wildlife photography support)

Matija, Igor, Leo ... three of Eastern Europe's finest

Harguneet, Anna, Tracy (wilflife photography support)

Arek, Milad, Sam

Monika, Nilufar, Mike (pill)

Egor... crazy russian...

Coffeehouse!

2005-03-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Coffeehouse was amazing... glad to see so many people come out... i think we pretty much broke every fire regulation in the book lol... Steve Hawkings was just challenging to us to ask ourselves... What if you knew that this day was your very last day on earth?? What would you do??

Anyways, the skit went successfully, and even though we didn't get to practice much, we were able to get it down.. thank God!

So have a look.. and enjoy!
Video

Blogging was inevitable...

2005-03-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Ok... slightly new look... changed around some stuff... added a music player at the side (not automatic)...

Anyways, been looking for a house for rent for next year with maybe about 4 or 5 CCF people for next year... One place we found was on Oxford and Spadina... Which is ok i guess... But it's a whole 10 minute walk to school!! Might be considering there... dunno yet... still looking...

Testing 1...2...3...

2005-03-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

Just testing out using a web blogger instead of having to edit HTML painstakingly each time...