Paying Tuition Fees? Save Now!

If you are an international student, most likely your parents are paying for your tuition fees every semester. That means you will be doing transactions of at least AUD$8000-15000 per semester.

I want to help you save money by recommending a service from OZForex, they will help you to convert your money into Australian dollars (or other currencies) with a better rate than the banks. They don't charge any transaction fees, and they are fast because they have overseas accounts as well. In short, I am a very satisfied customer! You may be able to purchase an ipod from the savings of one transaction alone.

If you need assistance or more information, feel free to contact me. This service is also useful for currency traders and the like. And of course, there's a few other currency converters out there, and you are encouraged to do your own research.

Day 58 Honour your parents!

The next time you want to point fingers at someone else, remember Mat 7:3. First deal with the plank in your own eye.

I have a friend who hates christians because they are hypocrites. They tithe to God, but don't honour their parents. Mat 15:1-20 highlights this very clearly. It's not enough to say the sinner's prayer, we have to obey the whole bible!

Blue Ocean Strategy

The idea in this book is that the best way to drive profitable growth is to stop competing in the overcrowded industries (red oceans), and create uncontested market spaces where competition is irrelevant (blue oceans).

I think this book is just a compilation of ideas supported by success stories. It's essentially saying, don't get caught up in competition - focus on value creation. The ideas are presented in a nice way, with pretty illustrations, but insufficient credibility.

The blue oceans that they refer to are basically companies who are doing well in the past. Definitely, everybody wants to do better. That's why this book is a success. But it doesn't offer any intrinsic value apart from a catchy name.

Overall, I only recommend this book as an unnecessary introduction to business, but please question what you read carefully, because there's no guarantee of success even if you follow the principles of the book.

Computer Issue

I had a computer problem in the past few days: there's a program called Adobe Updater that tried to download something from the internet. It successfully downloaded a LOT of data, but it's hungry all the time. I can't locate any settings on Acrobat 8 to stop it. But there's a file called updater.dll, and I renamed it. I hope this fixes the problem. Next time you install something, make sure that it doesn't download updates automatically. It will make your system go very slow, and you'll run out of space very quickly. There's only 1 exception: antivirus software. What do you think?

Life and Death

Last Wednesday Xiaozhen gave birth to a son, and his name is Jireh (Jiale). I knew Xiaozhen when she came to Brisbane to study. We had a good time walking along Brisbane River and eating cheesecakes.

This morning my ex housemate passed away. His name is Richard Braun. He was an inventor, a successful guy in his own rights, and he was full of life stories. He didn't invent the shaver though. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, he was someone who grieved the Holy Spirit.

The past few weeks have been a rough time for me, and I don't see the situation getting any better. My apologies if I haven't been available, but I don't have the appetite for idle talk on msn.

Day 40 A Contextualised Church

Mat 11:11-19

Jesus was just a carpenter, and no one listens to a carpenter unless if your furniture is broken. I believe that the church needs to be contextualised. We need a business fellowship, for people who are in managerial level, and business owners. We need to reach out to the professionals. We need fellowship groups in the city.

Day 39 Who am I

Mat 11:1-10

I just find that this song really speaks volumes about God's love for me. Who am I, by Casting Crowns.

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Bridge&Chorus 2x

I am yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.