2011 Thanksgiving

Before the year ends...
2011 Thanksgiving

One God Almighty n Faithful
Two mum and dad putting their faith in God
Three kids enjoying their studies
Four of them had their oversea trips and back safely
Five additions in our care group
Six Walks across the room experiences
Seven prayers daily n God answers
Eight Reconciliation of my brother with parents
Nine dad hospitalized twice but checked out in time for Saturday worship
Ten lessons in Cantonese for New Believers in Christ n prep for baptism
Eleven 75th birthday year for both mum n dad

Thanksgiving For Christmas

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for Your gift of Jesus.
Dear Jesus, thank You for Your gift of Life.
Dear Holy Spirit, thank You for Your gift of Your Present.
Dear friends, blessed are You when You receive these Gifts in Your hearts!

Quotable Quotes on Life

Someone has written these beautiful words. Must read and try to
understand the deep meaning of it.
They are like the ten commandments to follow in life all the time.

1]  Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in  trouble,
but it is a "steering wheel"  that directs the right path throughout.

2]  So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so
small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look
Ahead and Move on.

3]  Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it
takes years to write.

4] All things in life are temporary.  If going well, enjoy it, they
will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last
long either.

5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a
Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always
need a Base of Gold!

6]  Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from
above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7]  When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities;
when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

8]    A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything
worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and
sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has
prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away
today’s PEACE.

  If you really enjoy this, please pass to others. It may brighten
someone's day...

May you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.

Stay away from Anger... It hurts ...Only You!!!

The Wise man explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion. One day the wise man was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others, he shouted." You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

The wise man was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The wise man smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Wise man. "You are right,  "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Wise man answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

Beautiful Quotes

If you are right then there is no need to get angry, And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.

Patience with family is love,
Patience with others is respect,
Patience with self is confidence and
Patience with GOD is faith.

Never Think Hard about PAST, It brings Tears...
Don't Think more about FUTURE, It brings Fears...
Live this Moment with a Smile, It brings Cheers.!!!!

Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,
Every problem comes to make us or break us,
Choice is our whether we become victim or victorious !!!

Do you know, why God created gaps between fingers? So that someone who is special to you, comes and fills those gaps by holding your hands forever.

Time Out Cycling

When the days tire you out
Go for a break maybe a shout
When problems arise with no way out
Taking a stroll may let the stress out
When your body is up and about
Go cycling may be a good time out.

Your Own Mount Everest

Priority And Balance

There are many needs around. Needs abound in everyone. Needs are plenty everywhere. They should be met. Yes. But how should they be met? Must they be met now? Which one takes priority over another? Do you need help? Do you need to delegate? Do you have the ability and capacity to meet that need ?

You and I can be so busy with meeting needs that we forgot some other more important areas. For example if your health needs you, take time and focus for these. This takes priority. If your family needs you, be home for them.

This tells us that balance is so important in meeting needs. Just like a weighing scale. When there is a heavier item on one end over the other, an imbalance will appear. In life the imbalance may show up as burn out, strained relationships, breakdown, healthy and financial issues.

Therefore as you prioritize, you should also balance out.

Story Time: The Perspective Of The Small And Big Fishes

Why are the small fishes disappearing while the big fishes disappeared for a while and then appeared again? The small fishes are all troubled by the loss of their little ones.

The small fish asked the big fishes if any of them witnessed the event and returned to tell the tale. One of them stood up and said. "The giant caught me once and placed me into his basket." "He looked and then noticed I was too big for the basket."

I saw many small fishes in the basket. He picked me up and lopped me back into the water. Another giant came by and asked why he did that. I sheepishly peeped out of the water and heard the reply of the fisherman giant. "The big fish is too big for my wife's cooking wok."

Attitude

How to do you develop a sense of urgency in all things that you do? First of all, why is there a need to have this urgency? Can't we simply take our time? In the world of business, if you are slow in response, you may receive a lot of customer calls and you may not be able to catch up. In that you will lose lots of customer business and lose lots of cash and revenue.

In the home environment the need to respond to your child's request in a timely manner may show your concern for your child. Not that you should always respond if you know the child is throwing a tantrum, but enough to show that you care and love within the family unit.

When you are buying something at a retail shop and you check with the salesgirl if the shop has a size smaller. The salesgirl goes off and you waited and waited and she was no where to be found. You surely will go to another shop where the service is better and faster.

Speed is almost everything.

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character

Which one came first? The egg or the chick?

Which one came first? Goodness or badness?

The Bible verse noted in 1 Corinthians 15:33 reminds of 'Bad company corrupts good character'. This is a wise saying and reminder to all, especially parents with young children. To inculcate good character, there is another saying that says 'It takes the whole village to bring up a child.'

So just bad company will corrupt good character, to build and preserve good character, it is of utmost importance to have good company. If you do not have, go find one or two or more. The end is the worth the effort now.

Challenge

Isn't it true that unless you and I spread our wings, we shall not have the experience of knowing how high we can fly? A lot of opportunities come and go and we may not get that opportunity again. Shall we let these go or consider taking up the challenge while we can?

A side thought to consider too is whether that challenge is worth taking up. Is that opportunity worth your effort? So it is not every challenge or opportunity that comes your way that we must take them up. Without thought you and I may add up consuming ourselves and everyone else too.

But challenges do consume and they do eat you up in one sense. That is why the time to consider taking up these 'opportunities' are also important times to weigh the cost. Challenges abound everyday. Take them one step at a time. Take them where your capacity progresses along.

Life Without

What are some of the things we can live without? Medically there was conclusion that the common person would need only a bed to sleep, food and water. What else do you think are the things each one can live without?

Life without the TV. You may lose out in the latest information on the news or the Sports update. You will certainly gain some time for your body to rest. You can catch up with your children on their lives and allow them to know you and they know you slightly deeper. This is certainly time well spent.

Life without the Phone. Once again, the connectivity with the world seems to be broken as if you and I were left behind in the rat race. In the first place there wasn't a race maybe. Simply you and I rolling along life. Once more without the Phone, it is best time to connect with yourself and also with your spouse. Why talk to someone afar when you can talk face to face?

Life without the Newspaper or the magazine. This is certainly the same as the TV. We shall not hide ourselves behind the newspaper, neither sandwich between the magazine pages. Our friends and children should not recognize our faces as newspapers or magazines. You and I are flesh and blood.

Life without you. Now who is this 'you' I may be referring to? Can be anyone! Can you live life without that you? Hmmmm. Think about it.

Teamwork

One person can make some difference

Two persons can get some work done

Three persons can share the heavy load

Four persons can move a stalled vehicle

Five persons can prevent a serious fall

Six persons can bend a coconut tree

Seven persons can block a football goal

Eight persons can lift a one tonne bus

Nine persons can form a football team

Together we can make a big difference

(just babblings on this topic teamwork)

The Greatest Gift - John 3:16

Three points from this morning's sermon:

The Greatest Love
- For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son

The Greatest Liberation
- that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish

The Greatest Life
- but have eternal life.

Comfort With God's Comfort

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4)

Another Story In A Song: He Was Heard

Here is another song with a story. In fact it has two stories. The title of the song is 'He Was Heard'. The first story sings of the priest who needs to go about preparing himself for the service of the Lord in the Holy of Holies of God's temple. He has to sacrifice offerings first for himself and then for the community. If he commits a mistake, he may be struck dead and a rope tied to his one leg and pulled out from there. All these in order that he may be heard.

The second story sings of the Great High Priest who lives forever and most qualified to offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice, the once for all sacrifice for all mankind. Indeed he was heard.

Read the lyris of the song below:

He Was Heard by Michael Card

Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10 & 7:11-28

In the days of old the priest would come
With a lifeless sacrifice
While the crowd in anxious silence
Would wait outside

As he entered in his temple
They hoped he would be heard
God would give them a tomorrow
And the priest would stay alive
Their only choice, their only hope
Would he be heard
Their only way they might be saved
Would he be heard

In the fullness of the promise time
The Final Priest did come
And He offered up a living sacrifice

Now we His children wait for Him
With hope and joyful praise
For we know that God has heard Him
For we know that He was raised
He offered cheerful praise and He was heard
He offered up His life and He was heard

Chorus
So let us fix our eyes upon
The priest whom God did hear
For the joy that was before Him
He overcame the fear
Oh, once and all He paid the cost
Enduring all the shame
Taking up the cruel cross
Ignoring all the pain
Repeat Chorus

Lyrics taken from:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/michael-card-lyrics/he-was-heard-lyrics.html

Accompanying song, you can click the link below:
http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=He+Was+Heard

IF God were like us...

Arrrh! So much work, so much housework, so much homework, so much cleanup, so many people to comfort and counsel, so many issues to follow through, so many checkpoints to discern before taking the next steps.

If God were like us, how do you think the work will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the home will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the family will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the church will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the community will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the hospital will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the school will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the nature will be like?
If God were like us, how do you think the world will be like?

Hmmm. If God went on holiday, how do you think the world will be like?
Hmmm. If God escaped for a while due to stress, how do you think the world will be like?
Hmmm. If God took a break, how do you think the world will be like?

Living With Disorder

Can you live with disorder and chaos? Can you stand the dirt and dust of life, blowing at you and hitting hard into your face? Disorder and chaos. Dirt and dust. Can you live with them? Can you still stand your ground? Can you bear with it?

Observing the state of arrangement in the library, I saw books were not properly placed. The shelves looked very untidy and messed up. Not only one shelf here, another shelf there was also in the same condition. If you are a person with orderly standards you probably may have collapsed. Can you stand the ground?

While waiting for the bus, I observed the state of the bus stop and felt the immensity of the trash problem accumulating, beginning from every bus stop rubbish collection bin. How can I live with trash and disorder? You and I could conclude that for one we can tolerate these areas of mess and smell as there are not in our own estates.

For two we probably may or may not take action to help clean up as we have gotten use to the smell and numbed to the condition. For three if action is really taken to clean up, you and I may also be cleaned up and cleared out along with it.

I remember the great flood story in the book of Genesis of the Bible. That was the greatest clean up. So if God would to do it again, what do you think God would do with you and me?

Into The Presence Of God

Before the priest of God enters the Holy of Holies, he prepares himself thoroughly. What emotions filled him as he enters, as any mistake he commits, he will be struck dead in God's presence. And his body pulled out of the temple with the rope tied to his leg.

In these days how prepared am I when I enter into the presence of God, where Jesus our Savior and Lord and Forever Priest who offered Himself on the cross. On that day, the curtain was torn into two.

Entering into the presence of God was opened for me and for you and for everyone else. How prepared am I? How persevering am I? How persistent am I? How privileged for me and for you to enter His presence?

Praise to Jesus who lives forever, continuing in office, saving all of us completely who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for us, at the right hand of God. Hebrews 7:25

Story Time: The Fisherman And His Small Fish

One day Yawny went fishing. He was hoping to get some fish today as the last few days were not that fruitful. As he was setting up his fishing gear by the bank, he saw another fisherman on the further end of the bank.

As he sat down after casting his line, he saw that the fisherman caught one and it was a rather small one. And he placed it in his basket. Deep in Yawny’s heart, he would wish he too would get that size of a fish and it would be enough for the day.

Then the next moment, he saw that fisherman’s line tighten and he pulled in one big one. Yawny was both overjoyed with his catch and at the same time envious why he did not catch any. The fisherman then steadied the fish, removed the hook and threw that big fish back into the water. Yawny’s eyes balled up in shock and anger. “What was this fisherman trying to prove?” Yawny screamed inside him.

Instead of watching his own line, he kept watching this fisherman. He pulled another small fish and placed it into the basket. This fisherman was really fortunate. He caught another big fish. Yawny watched in anticipation what he was going to do next. He threw it back into the water. Yawny boiled up within him.

Yawny stamped his feet towards this fisherman and demanded what in the world was he doing. This fisherman introduced himself as ‘Oday’. Yawny tried his best to politely asked him why Oday threw the big fish back into the waters.

With his confident smile, Oday replied, “Oh, that is easy. In my kitchen, the big fish is too big for our small wok. The small fish is just nice." Yawny fainted.

Spirit Dependent Prayer

My life is in your hands, God.
Use me to point someone toward you today -
I promise to cooperate in any way I can.
If you want me to say a word for you today,
I'll do that.
If you want me to keep quiet
but demonstrate love and servanthood,
by your Spirit's power I will.
I'll fully available to you today,
so guide me by your Spirit.

Things That Come In Pairs

Our World Full Of Pairs

Sunlight Moonlight
Hot Drink Cold Drink
Summer Winter
Boy Girl
Screw Nut
Red Bean Green Bean
Heaven Hell
Male Female
Turtle Tortoise
God Demons
Husband Wife
Father Mother
Sons Daughters
Right Left
Gents Ladies
Key Keyhole
Penis Vagina
Land Sea
On Off
+ -
x /
( )
" "
Plug Socket
Positive Negative

The Old Has Gone, The New Has Come

Do you want to go back to the days of using VHS tapes and cassette tapes? Do you want to go back to the days of Egypt and be enslaved again? Do you want to go back to the days of animal sacrifices and offerings?

Old Wine, New Wineskin? Decide today.

* in many undeveloped countries, VHS tapes and players are still used. Continue to listen with open ears and open hearts.

Short Course In Human Relations

Short Course In Human Relations

1. The least important word: I - gets the least amount done

2. The most important word: We - gets the most amount done - relationships

3. The two most important words: Thank You - appreciation

4. The three most important words: All is forgiven - forgiveness

5. The four most important words: What is your opinion? - listening

6. The five most important words: You did a good job - encouragement

7. The six most important words: I want to know you better - understanding

The above is taken from Be A People Person by John C Maxwell, Chapter 1.

Enjoying Nature

Has the high rise of modern society replaced the garden view and green nature? Has tall designer metal buildings covered the views of those green tall trees? Enjoying the green garden and nature now really takes real decisive discipline. Green pictures background desktops and screen savers on your smart iPhones do not count.

Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

I praise God because His word says that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

There is only the one and only me and you cannot find a similar me. Even a twin will have their differences and though the firstborns may have similar traits, each is made differently. Respectfully made. Fearfully made.

Taking time to reflect on the make up of you may literally cause you to fill up with wonder and awe. How did all these come together and formed the existing me? How in the world did I grew so big from so small?

Doesn't all these move you to respond:

I praise God because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

REST

How do you take time to rest? The purpose for rest is very clear - to allow you to recover yourself be it spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. This rest is essential to travel the next lap of your journey. It is not a 400m dash, but a marathon for one who should pace himself or herself appropriately.

What do you do when you rest? Here are four simple ways to rest:

Reflect - on the week's or day's activities. Write a journal. Record down your thoughts and prayers on paper so that you use all your five senses to digest on the written words. Who knows - you may discover the next new idea!

Exercise - not only mentally but go for a walk, or jog, or go participate in a sports. Improve your discipline in waking up early by using alarm clock and sleeping early. Involve a like minded partner in this endeavor.

Sleep - by giving your body physical rest. Symptoms of breakdown and burnout will show up if our bodies are not given the needed rest. Watch out for pimples, heatiness and all kinds of sicknesses. Resting your bodies will allow God to work on your bodies.

Talk - with a friend. Catch up with someone whom you have lost touch for a while. Socialize not only over the Internet like Facebook or Social Media Networks. Meet up over a cup of coffee or tea or over a meal. You could also take time to pray with and for one another. In this aspect you and your friend have talked to Almighty God as well.

A Story In A Song

Many songs have been created which were based on their life stories and many more songs are being created at this very moment based on events and moments of daily life experiences. You and I can read these stories as you listen to the songs written. You can feel the emotions therein and also connect to the words which may come alive before you. I am sure you have heard many of these "Story In A Song".

Here is one which I have copied the lyrics for your convenient read.
God's Own Fool
It seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind

For even His family said He was mad
And the priest said a demon's to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

Chorus:
When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong

So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable
Come be a fool as well

Come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
Then you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam

So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say, "I believe"
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

Chorus

So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable
Come be a fool as well

Taken from http://www.mp3lyrics.org/m/michael-card/gods-own-fool/

Here is a YouTube video clip of the song composed and played by Michael Card.


For those interested in playing the guitar, check out this link http://www.christianguitar.org/csong530/Michael-Card-God's-Own-Fool

911 September 11 Anniversary

911 September 11, 2011

This date is etched into the minds of many of that tragic day.
For comfort once more those who lost their loved ones I pray.
For thanksgiving to God for those who came alongside and stayed.
For renewed life purpose to comfort those in future dismay.

For God's justice shall prevail
Though time will tell us more detail
Also give you and me moments to inhale
The breath of life which is not for sale

911 September 11
311 March 11
And what more shall come
With the Lord we shall overcome!

Start Well End Well

This morning's sermon pointed out the tendency you and I experience on falling away like many; falling away from the belief of who Jesus is, amidst struggles and temptations around.

The Bible recorded that the Israelites fell away in rebellion and unbelief in God any more because they saw the people in the Promised Land were like giants. They wanted to go back to their comfort zone, to the land of Egypt.

So the experience is true not only for the believers whom the author of Hebrews wrote to, but also for us today. So how can we escape this great temptation and sin?

Hebrews 3:1 records fixing your thoughts on Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 records to fix our eyes on Jesus. Then choose to obey God despite the situation and circumstances. Join a community of believers so that the journey is easier as a cord of three stands is not easily broken.

I Am Joining My Husband Down There

Just heard a story of a woman being enquired if she would like to believe in God and go to heaven. She replied that her husband was down there waiting for her arrival. She wants to keep him company.

To this, the man told the weathered woman how does she plan to meet him down there in hell, in the netherlands. That place is such a huge place and so many levels maybe.

Then the next problem may be is how do you know if you have the freedom to roam around to look for your hubby. You may be locked in chains and escorted by the minions of hell to suffer the purpose of that place.

Let us say you get to see your hubby, what do you think your man will tell you. What advice will he give then and do you think he wants you down there with him?

Life is short. Live it well now!

Welcome Back

Talk about super busyness, you will not believe it that it was really non stop work after work, task after task and the list of things to do just keeps going and growing. How to find the time to write and post a blog or blog a post?

Thanks to this little gadget, the Blogger app which I just installed. Useful for me to simply post and publish the post on the go. I could even save it as draft and leave it for a later time to complete it and publish it.

So I need not access to the browser or Safari to get to Blogger and put this post. I am going to explore this app and see what else I can do with it.

Welcome back indeed!

Going Back To The Beginnings

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis Chapter One, Verse One and Two.

This post is not much different from some of the current movies being screen, like Captain America, the First Avenger. The movie begins with some agents locating the crashed landed flying machine. Within they discovered the Captain's protective shield and the camera rolls back to the beginnings.

Here too, when all is lost and confusing, we regain clarity when we begin going back to the beginning. Somehow you and I will recapture things better when we look back; when we take time to reflect on history. Some has said that we can learn and relearn our mistakes and make adjustments from His Story.

So this day I did not look back, not way back, but somehow far enough where I thought I was familiar with. I would not go into a discussion with you if God really created the heavens and the earth as it is really a separate long topic where others have ventured into and you could search more other it. Somehow right now you and I witness daily the heavens and the earth in our moment by moment.

As you bring your kids to school and as you drive down the highway, you and I should unconsciously notice the heavens surrounding us and the earth where we live in. Whether it came into being or was created, there they are - the heavens and the earth before our eyes. Each day. From Monday to Sunday. Every day. Year on year.

Words have a close attachment to our experiences and emotions. Words like 'formless', 'empty' and 'darkness'. Don't they bring back memories of days of lostness, confusion, sorrow maybe and being left alone or loneliness. Such are the power of these words and the life that goes with each one of those moments. It was hard moments and maybe hard and trying moments now. Even now.

Then the next few words made a difference. 'the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters' depicts a presence. It brings to light the presence of God's Spirit. Filled in between the spaces of formlessness, emptiness and darknesses, the Spirit of God was there.

Right when you thought you were all alone, God's Spirit was near. Just when you thought you were abandoned, God was with you all along. Sometimes or in fact many times I felt the days of 'formless', 'empty' and 'darkness', I felt left behind. Now, I am reminded that I could call on the Spirit of God - to hear to my anguish, to listen to my thoughts and to bear my load.

It was worth going back to the beginning. I remember reading this account in Bill Hybel's book 'Just Walk Across The Room' where he journeys back to the place where he began his journey of faith. In reflection, he concluded that it was a journey worth taking. In the beginning it was formless. In the end, there were God shaped moments etched into our memories to continue the journey to the end.



:)

Ask And You Will Receive

How can you learn beyond your status quo? How can you receive more of your heart's desires? The answer may be as simple as taking the initiative to ask.

The act of asking is as straightforward as ABC. But not asking may be the cause of many of life's troubles and miscommunications leading to misunderstanding and breakdown in relationships. Therefore you and I should seize the gold behind this gift of asking.

The Bible says:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7 NIV84)

The Bible also says:
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:8 NIV84)

Some examples of practicing asking are:

1. Asking For Directions. Whether you are an introverted or extraverted person, whether lost or even knowing the way, simply asking for directions can save yourself lots of time lost and anguish experienced through the process of finding your way. Unless you are training yourself to explore places and self discovery, asking really do saves.

2. Asking Questions. The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is most gained through this process of asking questions. Simply asking even a question you thought may be a stupid one can save you in future. You should not be overly concerned that your question may be a common sense request. You never know that that question you asked was the same as many others who hesitated in asking. You have done a good deed for others in retrospect.

3. Asking For Help. There is no bother to others when you request for help in any kind. When in doubt, please ask. Like operating any machinery or meddling a computer, taking this step of asking for help if unsure will save you of unnecessary cost due to damage as well as save the organization of increasing operating cost. Asking for help also allow others to practice charity and apply patience in responding to the questions you ask.

So with the above examples and realizing the numerous practical benefits of practicing asking for directions, asking questions and asking for help, try out for yourself and share your experiences with me. Thanks.

Clearing Household Gods

What are some examples of household gods? Asians in particular have these items which they would worship with food and incense and of course with time and money. How about other people of other nations? Their gods come in different shapes and sizes. Some are in the form of animals, some in human images, some in mountains and trees, some in sun, moon and stars and some in unknown creatures.

How about modern people? What do you think are their household gods? It may unknowingly be their stomach, their material possessions, their spouses, their beliefs, their iPads, their iPhones, their tablets or their football clubs and star players.

Why do we need to be careful with these household gods? Reflectively you will realize how these consume lots of your time, money and these translate to your life. When it takes control over your life, you know you have a household god.

How to clear these household gods? To take back your life you need to stop clinging to these gods. It is like making effort to get rid of the habit of smoking. Simply stop is the first step. It is in fact a paradigm shift from worshipping one god to worshipping what your heart speaks to you as the one true God. The old is gone, the new must come. So when clearing the old, be sure the old has gone, then the new can come.

Great Power Great Responsibility

With great power comes great responsibility. This was a phrase and advice given to Peter Parker aka Spiderman by his uncle Ben. You may not be like Spiderman endowed by super or mutant power, all of us are given great potential for great things.

You may be appointed to attend a First Aider course, which is quite a useful course. It is essential both for work as well as for your family. Gaining this knowledge as a First Aider is like given the power to know how to save lives. It is indeed a great responsibility and privilege to use it when the need arises for CPR or rescue work.

You may not be called to be a First Aider or even a Life Guard, but do you know each of us are given potential for greatness, whether it swerve to good or evil. Just being a great listener is a great feat. Just being present and available will serve as a greatest help you can offer.

So indeed each of us are endowed with great power and potential. You should not be discouraged nor disheartened when faced with many of life's adversities. Taking responsibility over the situation allows you to learn and grow to the next level.

Busy, Away And Back

I have been busy.
I have been away.

I have discovered that I stopped blogging for the month of June, right after writing the post on Enjoying Blogging And Blogging Benefits. It was a good break for myself and catching up with other matters.

In June, we had the celebration of Father's Day on 19 June 2011. My dad has mild dementia and is also quite weak at the legs. He is easily tired and needs rest after about one hundred metres. We had a great Father's Day feasting over lunch. The walk to a nearby shopping mall tired him and made him sick. I sent him home to rest after taking some medicine.

Thank God he got well after that weekend.

One other thing I tried out was to sign up for this article writing site called InfoBarrel. There are a lot of useful tips, ideas and content for everybody. It is almost close to another Google search engine. Check out on what I wrote on Chinatown Singapore.

If you are interested on sharing your knowledge, sign up InfoBarrel.

June was also the month of housekeeping. Making time to pack and discard some stuffs which have been in the cupboards a long while was very helpful. The old books and files of paper were packed for the recycling vendors. Those items that can be given away were placed in plastic bags to be passed to those who may need them.

It was a satisfying job well done.

Enjoying Blogging And Blogging Benefits

Having blogged for the last couple of months has been very fruitful, at the least for me. I have enjoyed it very much. It has given me lots of exposure to the many facets of internet life which I may not be able to experience if I were else where. Of course the same saying is true for others who will say that their exposure to other areas of life were more beneficial to them as compared to mine.

Just through blogging using the free blogging facility provided by Blogger, I had the opportunity and enjoyment to learn what blogging is all about. At my age, I thought I would be quite slow in picking up the internet skills and computer knowledge needed to put life into words. To my amazement, it was quite a breeze though I still have so many things to learn from the world of blogs and bloggers.

The list of benefits is definitely inexhaustive but I have listed the following so as to remind myself to push forward to learn more, practice more and enjoy more out of blogging. The process of learning never stops. The day I stopped probably is the day I die. So I hope the list also serves to remind others like me to press on to learn and practice blogging. This will become words for life for others.


10 Awesome Benefits of Blogging (To Me)
1. Putting my life into words. 
For me, life has been like a roller coaster. A couple of ups and in most times, downs. Like being in an amusement park, nobody enjoys the ride when it keeps going down and down and down. But to the stock broker, this trend means good news as they can buy and buy and buy because, when the stock price goes up and up and up, they will be laughing to the bank. So blogging life details like these allows me to put my thoughts and perspectives down so that it serves like a journal for me to look back and reflect and find out the missing gaps. Some problems in life really need to be laid out in front for a clearer look and then withdraw back into life. It is like taking out the battery that has lost its energy, let it charged and then putting it back into our bodies and we feel the rejuvenation again.

2. Learn something new.
I have heard so much about blogging that I did not take any action or interest in it. I have heard previously that it was something that is not good. It was a platform for young teens to note down their thoughts on life and issues they faced in life, so much so that their parents have to spot check what they wrote in their blogs. In such situations, the parents discovered more about their children and realized how they have failed as parents to their kids' growing pains. Other than these issues, blogging allowed me to try out how to set up a blog, try out new features, give suggestions and also take the bloggers' programming skills to the next level of improving features in Blogger.com.

3. Convert life words into a book.
Though it may not be the latest feature, but to me, it seems like a new feature in Blogger. The blogs that were written can be converted into a book. I am waiting for the day where I have the courage to put and compile all my blogs into a book. But with this thought, it helps to rethink the quality of my postings in my blogs. Having said that, it should not stop me from blogging. The correction and editing can be done later when really the publishing becomes a reality. So for those of you who wants to publish your very own book, start blogging.

4. Learn from others' blogs.
Not only can I learn features available in Blogger itself, I can also get to explore blogs created by others in the Blogger community. Since I was new to this phenomenon, there were already many experienced bloggers in the whole wide world. I could tap on their page settings, their background displays and their many knowledge put on display in their websites. Therefore the learning gets even more exciting each day.

5. All in one reference blog.
Thanks to the feature of putting links into the blog, I, being not very young already, could copy the links of those websites and interesting useful blog sites into my blog. With this, I could easily go back to these websites and refresh my memory and even learn new updates from their blogs. Of course, another alternative is to add these links to my favorites on my computer. But having these links all into one blog really saves me when one day my computer fails me. It can become my all in one savior.

6. Connect with people through comments.
As I learn from the blogs and websites of other bloggers, I also tried out putting comments into their blogs. Lo and behold, I did not realize I would get a response. And there we go, we've got a connection and we begin to share and learn even more as comments get built upon. Though there were some not-so-good comments posted by others sometimes, I am not going to allow these to stop me from learning from the world around me, do I?

7. Offer hope and life to others.
As I read comments and even from my own postings, they have given me some comfort that the blog came in useful for them and it offered some form of life to them. Especially during trying times in life, some words of encouragement are so needed to give others a spirit lifter so that we can move on in life. Depressed. Failure. Tired. Totally wiped out. Drained out. Worried. These situations can so easily and totally emptied so quickly our emotional tank that we become walking zombies. For me, I too drew a lot of refills from the blogs of others.

8. Share life stories.
One of the joys of having kids is to be able to share with them our life stories. Life stories become a part of us which need to be passed down to the next generation. They become stories to strengthen our future generation and move them to the next level. Even when we have passed on, they can become foundations for them to hold on and stand strong in times of adversity. I had also the opportunity to read lots of books I borrowed from the library just for the kids exposure. I too was intrigued by the new old stories depicted in pictures and simple words. Some I have re-produced in my blog for my memory.

9. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Yes. Life stories are also made up of images and photos. And so thanks to Blogger and others like it, it offered me to upload pictures and images into my blog as well. Don't you think this is awesome? Indeed a picture speaks more than words. And I have so many images and photos that they can be used to bring out the stories within. It is like watching a movie where the old man shuffles through the attics and finds a box of treasures. These treasures were albums of photos, scrapbooks and letters. Each contains photos and snapshots pasted together and each tells the events and memorable moments to share with others.

10. Life is more than just blogging.
This is not an anti-climax, though it seems so. So much can be blogged about, but somehow there are just certain things in life that cannot be blogged. There are certain emotions that words cannot be expressed and so cannot be blogged. There are certain images in life that sometimes can be once missed, forever missed. These images cannot be captured even by the most powerful cameras, but only by the images etched into our memories by what we saw and experienced. I can take a picture of the hug between a mother and child parting ways at the airport maybe for oversea studies. But I somehow simply cannot blog about the thoughts and feelings beneath both of them there.

For moments you and I can blog about, let us continue to blog, share and enjoy the benefits of blogging and live life to the fullest.

What If I Am Bob?

I was very intrigued by the Bob principle as highlighted by John Maxwell and so would like to put a quick note here so that we can learn pretty quick how to live with Bob.

So who is Bob? You will get to know a bit of who Bob is by the next statement. When Bob has a problem with everyone, Bob is usually the problem. So do you have a Bob or Betty (female version) in your department or company?

Or may be you feel that you may be are the Bob and the Betty. You and I can ask ourselves these questions to check if we are Bobs or Bettys.

*
Do I experience some kind of conflict/friction almost everyday?
Do people often rub or create friction with me the wrong way?
Do negative things just naturally occur to me?
Do I have just a few friends and had that inside wish I had more?
Do I always seem to say the wrong thing, especially at the wrong time?


Here is the acronym to help Bob to THINK before speaking.

*
T - Is it true?
H - Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring?
N - Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?


Hope this helps you and me in our journey of winning with people.

*Extracts taken from John C Maxwell's book on Winning With People, under the chapter, "The Bob Principle".

:)

30 Ways in 30 Days To Save Your Family

Of course it is easier said than done. How can anyone save the family in just 30 days? But the least I can do is try, right. I could may be try one of the 30 ways for the next 30 days. It could save the family. For example, I could just put into practice praying for the family continuously and consistently for 30 days.

Alternatively, I could do all 30 ways each day for the next 30 days. It may dust up the whole place and save my family. I heard from one of the training courses I attended that says, "For things to change, I must change first." Hope this book helps to give me a kick to my butt and wake me up from my slumber.

You can find this book from Amazon and read more details from there.

:)

Tree Top Tale: The Two Bears

Tree Top Tale: The Two Bears: "Two bears found a big piece of biscuit. They wanted to share the food between them. Big bear broke the biscuit into two. Small bear wante..."

Why Change?

Change is the only constant. Is change really necessary? Many like status quo. Many do not like to change as change creates mess. It does not like to disturb the dust. Change clears the dust so that you can see clearly.

But somethings do not change. The sun rises from the east to the west. Some habits die hard and do not change. The spot of the leopard do not change to stripes.

Work on those that can change. Prioritise on those that can change. Instead of waking up at 8am every morning, try to wake up at 7am to maximise the day. Begin with 10 sit ups each day in an effort to slim down. Once 10 sit ups is achieved, go to the next level - 20 sit ups or 15 sit ups.

When you start to pack the storeroom, and clear the dust, you may discover how much you have and also uncover the secrets of your past and learn the legacy of your history. You may find the words on the wall, left behind for Indiana Jones of today.

:)

Happy Mother's Day

The Mother & His 3 Sons

Three sons left home to make their fortunes and did very well. One day, the three competitive brothers got back together to discuss the gifts that they were giving their elderly mother.

The first said,"I built a big house for Mother."
The second said,"I got her a Mercedes with a driver."
"I've got you both beat," said the third. "You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty monks in a monestery twelve years for them to train them, but it was worth it. Mum just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it."

Soon thereafter, their mother sent out her letters of thanks. To the first son, she wrote,"Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."

To the second son, she wrote,"Marty, I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"

To the third son, her message was softer:"Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."

:)

* This story is taken from Winning With People, John C. Maxwell, The Exchange Principle.

The Chained Lions

He was shocked to see two huge lions guarding the pathway that leads to the other side. As he walked closer to see, he heard the sound of chains being dragged on the ground. Only then, he realized that the lions were chained. They were chained to the wall along the path.

The two could not come together. They could swipe their paws but they could not hurt anyone who walks in the center of the path. He walked slowly through, taking caution not to sway to the left neither to the right. His eyes were fixed on the other side. His focus was along the path.

Near the lions, there were evidence of strayed travellers who have fallen prey to the lions' deadly paws, claws and fangs.

Are you one of those travellers? Do you want to be like one of those travellers? Do not be afraid. Stay focused. Walk the path. Do not get side tracked to the left or to the right. The lions are there but they could not touch you until you let them.

And you will reach the path's end.

:)

Used To Being Thankful

A man was being known to be very kind to those around him. In many occasions, he would be very polite to the people on the streets even strangers. Even when criticism or comments that were not so constructive that were hurled at him and heard by him, he was not hurt by them. He simply said, "Thank you!"

A curious reporter walked past and took notice of the behavior of this man. When the crowd was gone, he seized the opportunity to talk to the man. As he examined the man sitting by himself on the bench, he saw his eyes was closed. The reporter could see on his facial features that he was a man weathered by many years of hardwork and restlessness.

Awakened by the shove, the man rubbed his eyes and looked at the reporter. After listening to the questions, the man told the reporter his story. Beginning from his childhood to the teenage years and to his adult years, the man narrated the details of life he had, with family, with work and with people in life.

After the interview, the reporter was touched and thanked the man for sharing his life. As the reporter walked away and shaking his head to awaken himself back to the present reality, he recalled a phrase the man spoke that impressed and touched him deeply. The man said that he was used to being thankful in every situation so much that he would say "thank you" at all times.

Used to being thankful.

:)

The Boy And His Father

One day the boy was following his father and his grandfather to the mountains. As they reached the top of the mountain, the father left a bag of food and clothing for the grandfather and left him there.

As the father was walking down the mountain with his son, the son asked his father why he left grandpa there in the mountain. His father said that grandpa was old and so he will live on whatever was given him as they could not take of him another more.

So the son in his curiosity asked, "Daddy." The father said, "Yes." "When you are old like grandpa, I should also pack a bag filled with food and clothing and leave you in this same mountain." The father on hearing was dumbfounded.

He turned and walked up the mountain again, realizing his actions were witnessed by his son and now turned against him. A chord stroke in his mind. The son reunited with his grandpa and they lived happily ever after.

:)

The Ant Student and Her Teacher

There is another interesting story about the ant student and her teacher. One day the ant student comes back, feeling very sad and downcast. Her mother asked about what happened, and whether if something occurred in school which caused her sadness.

The ant daughter replied that her teacher did not like her. Mother Ant asked for the reason that this is so. Ant daughter said the teacher did not like her and her work as her writing was too small. Mother Ant suddenly became very angry and at the same time curious.

She checked the written work that her daughter did and she found it written in excellent size. She decided to accompany her daughter to school the next day. When they arrived in the class, they waited for the teacher.

The next moment, a hugh shadow covered over them like an umbrella. Mother Ant turned to see who was coming, she saw Teacher Elephant standing at the door. At that moment, she understood why the teacher said her daughter's written work was not big enough.

:)

* 365夜夜好故事. 可爱宝贝卷

The Man and The Bamboo Pole

This story was taken from a kids chinese book* which I borrowed from the library. I find it very interesting and has a moral lesson for present people like you and me, whether adults or kids. The story is about a chinese man during the old days of China.

He was carrying a bamboo pole with the intention of selling it in the city. The bamboo pole was a long one and it is a material which is very useful for household purpose. While he was carrying it upright, the man met with a dilemma at the city entrance.

The bamboo pole could not go through the entrance as it was taller than the height of the city entrance. He was stuck. After a little while, an old man noticed his situation and recommended to him to cut the pole into half. Taking his suggestion, he cut the pole into half and thanked the old man as both of man entered the city happily.

Once he entered the city, he tried to fix the pole back and realized he made a big mistake in cutting the bamboo pole. With the shorter poles, he was not able to sell them and in the end he walked out of the city, realizing that he should have held the bamboo pole horizontally when entering the city.

From this lesson, the man eventually went back to the forest and cut more bamboo poles, placed them on a wooden cart and had no problem selling them in the city.

:)

* 365夜夜好故事. 可爱宝贝卷

Cliff or Corner?

Make a guess if the picture below is a cliff or a corner/side of a rock.

Drop a comment ok (not sure if you need to login with your gmail account).

I will drop an answer in the comment at the end of tomorrow :)

Take Care Of Your Eyes

Our eyes. So small. Not bigger than many parts of the body. But without them, you can be sure your hands may have to take over as eyes and feel your way through life. Our eyes indeed are the gateway to seeing the wonders of life. Images are being captured every second, assisted by the brain, to come out with a sight that makes sense to the person.

On occasions we can take our eyes for granted and over stressed them and lose our vision. Of course through surgery, some have restored their vision to perfection, but once again, the lack of discipline will surely cause the eyes to strain again. So how many surgeries can the eyes take?

With ever increasing exposure to computers and television and lesser outdoor activities, our eyes can so easily become strained and weakened in the process. So it is important to take eye breaks almost about every 45 minutes or every hour. of course not break from one screen to another screen, but to the world of nature and greenery.

You can also read more about other tips on the Internet. Here is a link to 30 ways to care for your eyes.

x)

Do The Simple Things First

Too much time was taken to complete the difficult question that there was not enough time for the other questions which she later realized she could get all of them correct. She was too engrossed with trying to solve that difficult question and problem so much that in the end, she failed the paper.

She could have skipped the bottleneck question and completed the simple ones first. In this way, she could score 90 marks out of 100 and learning the knowledge through skipping or attempting that 10 marks question. And maybe who knows, as she attempts those simple ones, the simple ones may provides clues to help her solve the difficult problem.

So which one will you do first?

:)

Happy Easter Sunday!

Blessed Easter Sunday! Other than Easter eggs and other fun activities, it is back to the basics to commemorating the risen Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. May this hymn ring true in every heart.

He Lives

I serve a risen Saviour,
He's in the world today;
I know that He is living,
Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He's always near.

# Chorus:
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and He talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He live, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me
I see His loving care,
And tho my heart grows weary
I never will despair;
I know that He is leading
Thro' all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing
Will come at last.

#

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs
To Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him,
The help of all who find,
None other is so loving,
So good and kind.

Hymn is taken from http://www.breadsite.org/lyrics/180.htm
:)

Aim, Shoot, Bullseye

How to set a goal or target and stay on target? The illustration is used to help us to determine what it takes to set goals or targets and how to stay on target. Have you ever played the game of darts? Darts throwing is a very simple game, basically throwing darts at a board with scores based on your accuracy.

Before playing darts, you need to have the darts and of course, the dartboard. With the darts and no board, the game is not complete. In fact, it goes nowhere and it may be also dangerous. Imagine you or things in your house or garden have become the board for the darts. So it is important to have in place a target or goal as you pursue any activity in life.

After setting up the board (on the wall), you ask yourself what is your goal. Is it going to be 10, 50, 90 or 100 score? So what does it take to hit 90 or 100? In throwing the darts, the following are needed:

1. Focus and Aim
With darts ready to fly, your eyes must stay fixed on the target ahead. If your eyes are distracted by the surrounding attractions and people cheering with playful activities, the dart is obvious to go side tracked. In such situation, if I were you, I would stay away from such a person as far as possible. Who knows where the dart is going to land. Keep your eyes fixed on the target. Remove distractions if possible. Remove clutter. If these are inevitable in many cases, stay focused.

2. One Task At A Time
Much is said about multi-tasking but to really achieve excellence and focus, we can only and should only throw one dart at a time. There after, prepare for the next. Focus on one task at a time. In fact, doing many darts at the board, one of the darts may hit bullseye but there is left to chance. In life, there are not many chance for you to try.

3. Effort, Energy and Speed
Keeping focus and having the dart ready to fly without the right effort and needed speed, will also not get the dart to hit the target on the dartboard. You may either fall short die to lack of effort and too slow speed, or overshot or too high due to too much energy or too fast in speed. So having good goals, and focus must be coupled with needed effort, push, motivation and discipline to achieve those goals set. If it is also taking too long to achieve these goals, then what is holding you up or slowing you down?

Keep practicing, practicing and practicing. You will surely hit the bullseye. Many participate, few get the prize. Many aspire, few attain.

Persevere!

:)

I Hate Everything

I came across this book at the library titled "I Hate Everything
" by Matthew DiBenedetti. It was on display and also for borrowing. The words of the book caught my attention and I borrowed it.

It was a colorful book on the cover page and it looked like it was for kids as it was filled with pictures of rainbow, pink unicorn, cute penguins, smily kittens, bright blue sky, cotton-like clouds and smiley sun. Was this a children's book or what?

To my amazement and horror, it was a whole book filled with I hate this and I hate that. This book is hatefully awesome. Every page. Man, this is tastefully hating. Also you will find the illustrations are quite simple. The entire book is written in black, illustrated in black with full scape lines in a white background.

You can literally imagine what each day he is doing, whether in school, at home or during his free time, consumed in writing hateful statements and compiling them into this book. It has almost everything, from personal habits to school and social settings. Everything. Amazing. It is now published.

Conclusion.

You can write anything and publish anything as long as it is worth publishable. Just for your information. The book is categorized under 'Humor'.

:)

From Blog To Print

I was fascinated by the ad to put your blog to print. It is an amazing idea to compile all the blogs you have written about in one's blog and put them all together into paper form and bind them up into a book. This creates perspective and motivation for the blogger to put in some effort and quality to the blog.

It is a great gift idea to give to friends and family, to allow others to know you more and also in the end encourage others to blog and put their life and work into writing. Does this speak of journaling? It somehow does.

We cannot have everybody to hear us all the time but we can certainly put our thoughts into words so that everybody can read and hear our stories in their right times and moments. Your blog to printed books will turn out to be a source of inspiration and encouragement.

So start blogging. Start blogging a good blog. Learn to blog a good blog. Explore the resources available in the internet to learn what it takes to blog and enjoy the benefits of it.

:)

How Successful People Think

I recently came across a book from the library and had it borrowed. I was just reading it for pleasure. The title is "How Successful People Think" by John C. Maxwell. The content is excellent as it has a flow of eleven ways we do thinking.

I particularly liked the section on focused thinking. He gave very helpful short and sharp tips on how you can stay focused in systematic steps. Here are the step headers to get you enthused in either buying the book or borrowing it from the public library.

1. Remove distractions
2. Make time for focused thinking
3. Keep items of focus before you
4. Set goals
5. Question your progress

I would urge you to read more details on each of these steps in the book as it simply speaks of me in many aspects which I lack. Example step 3, very often when the items of focus is out of sight, it eventually is out of mind. And setting goals is one big weakness for me.

Another section I will simply put the header here to remind myself too. The question is good for thought and action. What are you giving up to go up?

Four 'I Can't's
1. I Can't Know Everyone
2. I Can't Do Everything
3. I Can't Go Everywhere
4. I Can't Be Well-Rounded

Cultivate this habit of reading for personal development.

:)

After Reading, Practise

Reading helps to increase knowledge in many things. Reading grants us exposure to the lives of others who experience certains things in life which we ourselves may not have the opportunity to go through. It allows us to appreciate others and be considerate with certain groups of people.

But there is a danger. Read them much without practice is like storing your storeroom with so much that it becomes a problem when you open it the next time. Everything tumbles out. Therefore, it would be better to apply what you read or practise it if it is possible.

Of course, learning or reading from the bad examples or mistakes of others being written down, it would be wise not to go through that same path, else what was read did not actually go through and reach the heart of the person.

So be sure to discern what you read and also what you intend to apply or practise. If in doubt, it is good to get the advice of parents or teachers or elders.

:)

Seeing In The Light

While walking past the kitchen table in the morning, I saw the crumbs on the table. I asked myself why didn't I see those crumbs earlier? Hmmm. We had our breakfast and enjoyed our breakfast. Yum yum. But we did not realize we did leave some crumbs behind and did not clear up until now.

Why didn't we see those crumbs earlier? So sometimes we can be so caught in conversation and enjoyment, we forget the surrounding, the people. We lose consciousness or we may be tired. Or we may also be so darkened that we could not see the nitty gritty stuffs we left behind for others to clear.

Or may be we are in the light (kitchen morning light) that we could not see the crumbs. Then in the dawn of the sunlight shining through the kitchen window, the light seem to cast a shadow over the smallest of crumbs on the kitchen table.

Light up our minds and walk in the light. here are two verses taken from the Bible, 1 John 1:5,7 - This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

:)

Winter Singapore

Walking the kids to school, we observed the trees that stood along the path leading to the school entrance. It was like they were welcoming us and at the same time saying to come again tomorrow. We noticed the leaves of the trees were almost gone and dry leaves were scattered everywhere.

And so we thought that winter may be coming to Singapore. Wouldn't it be great to have winter in Singapore? Snow, sled and snowman. Snowball, snow fight and snow automobile. But we might just feel the winter winds instead of enjoying the snow of winter.

Nonetheless, winter winds. It will also be cool too. Many seize the opportunity to get their dusty old kites out from their storerooms and zoom to the open fields to launch out their 'rockets' to the sky. What a sight!

Nowadays, we can also see remote control kites with beautifully adorned LED lights played for both day and night. What an innovation! So back to winter in Singapore. So we do have winter Singapore (less all the winter clothings) where many can make time for Winter Sports with kites, walks in the gardens and parks and enjoy the breeze of cooling winter winds.

So Singapore all year round is not only the season for work and work and work or shopping and shopping and shopping or eating and eating and eating or studying and studying and studying. We get to enjoy some seasons of autumn where the leaves fall, winter where the winds come, spring where the trees bloom and summer where the sun shines.

:)

Fixing A Puzzle

You can be easily overwhelmed when faced with a problem that is as immense as a big wreckage caused by a tsunami or earthquake. Your mind can suddenly get knocked out as blank as a white piece of paper. How do you solve this big problem?

How about fixing a puzzle? How does one fix up a jigsaw puzzle, say a one thousand pieces puzzle? What are the steps you will follow to complete this kind of jigsaw puzzle? Which step will come first? What phrase would come to your mind to solve this puzzle?

First things first.
1) Locate the pieces which make out the outline of the puzzle.
2) One piece at a time, link them up so that can form the outline of the puzzle.
3) If piece cannot match, try another piece.
4) Piece by piece, complete the outline.

Area by area.
1) Once the outline is completed, locate area pieces and put them together.
2) Like items for example pieces which form the tree are placed together.
3) One piece at a time, link them up so that can form that area of the puzzle.
4) Piece by piece, complete these areas.

Piece them all together.
1) Arrange the areas which are completed within the outline of the puzzle.
2) With those loose pieces, link up all the areas with the outline.
3) Piece by piece, complete the puzzle.
4) Send the completed puzzle for framing.

It is finished!

So what is the key word or key phrase as you read the above steps?

:)

The Turtle and The Rabbit

You have heard of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Here is the other made up story of the turtle and the rabbit.

As they have heard the victorious stories of the tortoise's win over the hare, rabbit goes to race the turtle, knowing that the turtle is much faster than the tortoise and the hare is much faster than the rabbit in terms of speed.

Rabbit desires to win back what was lost. On the day of the race, in the presence of many witnesses, the race began with the flag off. Turtle moved briskly while rabbit hopped frantically. It was a close race as turtle took the lead.

After a long distance with both competitors they began to feel the exhaustion creeping into their tired bodies. Soon rabbit stopped to catch his breath and turtle turned and also stopped to catch his breath as well. Then rabbit moved towards turtle.

Turtle spoke pantingly as rabbit halted to listen what he has to say. ...


At the finishing line, the crowd roared and cheered in enthusiasm as both racing animals moved in step. Both crossed the finishing line and smiled at each other while their fans celebrated their victorious race.

:)

Reminding Remembrance

The people had the blood on the door post of their household and stayed within shall be saved. They set up the twelve stones and piled up. It became an item of remembrance of the crossing. They lifted up the pole with the bronze snake, reminding the people of they that looked at the bronze snake shall receive the healing of God.

The scent. It reminded her of the perfume she once bought and enjoyed putting it on when she was a young woman. It just filled the whole place and gave everyone the nosey attention she needed.

The rainbow. It gave a cosmic remembrance to God that there will not be another day where He shall send a flood over the whole earth. It hovered over the sky to all people too that God's love embraces us like that rainbow.

The coffee. It's dark color spoke of the darkness of man. So dark, so black, so evil, so disgusting. It reminded the need of mankind, the need for salvation.

What items help you to remember things, events and stories?

:)

Breaking The Jar

The boy was playing in the kitchen and was seated at the kitchen table. He was caught up in his imagination that he was actually holding on his toy airplane and swaying here and there. He was thinking that he was actually piloting the jet plane.

Oblivious of his surroundings, he flew from one side to the other. You could see his body movement swaying along the path of the flight. Suddenly in an instance sway his elbow knocked against something on the kitchen table and he heard a crackling sound of the floor.

When he saw the broken jar on the floor and the crackling sound startled him, the boy cried. In a second, mother came in swiftly to check out what has happened and hope that her son has not injured himself. On seeing the mother, the boy in his crying posture was anticipating to see the frantic face of his mother turning as black as soot. Deep in his heart he remembered mother saying that it was a gift from a friend.

Mother quickly squatted down and asked if her boy was injured or not. The boy sadly nodded his head. The mother's face also changed from being frantic to delight as she examined the wreck of the jar. She found the bunch of keys which she was hunting high and low and could not recall where she actually hid it.

In breaking the jar, mother found the keys.
In brokenness did mother and child found life.

:)

The Bell

The school bell rang and the students stopped their recess activities and gathered at the assembly hall or proceeded back to their respective classes or laboratories. Now there is also the music accompaniment before the school bell rings to alert all the students that recess time is over.

One day is coming when the worldwide bell will ring and we shall all gather. What then is the music accompaniment? Earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and volcanic eruptions? Natural calamities and wars between nations and ethic groups?

All these certainly will bring about stress to the mind and emotions and heighten concern and worry about the present and future, for family and friends. Being mentally and emotionally (maybe not financially) ready for these activities is good for the body and soul.

It is like in darkness of storms or plagues of darkness in the room or across the sky, fear and worry creep in. But it is also the same place and same sky where you shall see the light piercing through as the storm and darkness dissolve and get consumed by the light.

Listen to the Bell and we shall see the Rainbow of our lives.

:)

Your Calcium Intake

You want to know the level of calcium needed for your body during the span of life you have. Check out this website www.AskDrSears.com and find out more how the body absorbs calcium and under what conditions that it is more effective and what conditions it is detrimental.

As we age, this knowledge is even more important and it is better to act now that later. When we are older, the body system may take longer to take in the nutrients needed for the body system. So do not assume we are still young as it is so important to care for our bodies which take us to longer years in life.


Other than calcium intake, of course you and I need to be careful with the food we consume and watch our diet. Work life also needs to be more balance, taking time out for exercise and destressing moments. Life really is not about just work and work and work or money and money and money.

So besides calcium intake, plan out life goals, family time, exercise, holiday breaks and of course an evening at the movies may be. With these in stock, life will be more meaningful and less demoralizing amidst sure-come stressful moments and exhausting times.

:)

Does Not Matter Anymore

Looking at the extend of the debris across the expanse of the home he once lived and grown up in, all these does not matter anymore as compared to the loss of those he once loved. Why was he angry and even annoyed over the issue which compared to this is nothing at all now. The loss, the lostness and lifelessness seem to take over now than ever before.

It does not matter anymore. Really. It does not matter anymore now.

Life moves on. It just moves on, with or without me.

The thing that matters now is those alive and they need me more than ever before. We need to stick together and stay together till the end, through thick and thin.

:)

In Touch With The Dead

The weekend was exhausting for the living as many visited the graves of their loved ones. It was memorial day or memorial week where many droves of people paid their respect to the tombs of relatives and friends. The cemetery was flooded with the living.

They brought with them items for burning to the dead with hope they will be found useful in the underworld. Those with families brought along the next generation so that they experience first hand the process of life and death. One day's exposure will last a lifetime's experience.

The cemetery was filled with incense burning everywhere as well as many left behind items. After the memorial week is over, the cleaners being paid a certain sum will come to clean up the tombs. Out of the cemetery, the whole body and attire were smelled with incense.

At the Christian cemetery, the atmosphere was one of serenity, quietness, peace and gentleness. No incense but the smell of grassland space where it will one day be filled with the saints.

:)

Saying and Doing

There are many people who likes to say say say
There are also those who likes to do do do
There are some people who likes to say and do
There are also those who likes to do and say

So which are you?

So which is better?

To say and say and say but did not do
To do and do and do but did not say
To say and do and say and do
To do and say and do and say


But for those who do say and did not do,
it is not too late to do to correct it to...
To say and say and say but did later.


James 1:22, 25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.....not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.

:)

What Are Your Personality Types?

Do you want or desire to know more about yourself? Discovering yourself more would give yourself the one benefit to face life more energetically and not be too stressed or drained by stress or disappointments or disturbances.

There are several instruments where you can find out more about your personality types such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator or DISC test or the Four Temperaments.

Through these tests, you can discover more you  never knew about yourself and more of others you thought you knew.

Try them and get to network better with others.

:)

How Did We Have So Much?

While doing housekeeping of our home, we discover that we had many things which we had collected over a long period of time. Unknowingly, we were collecting more and more things each day of our lives. We had collected so much that it now became a big problem.

It is like eating your favorite dish day in and day out that one day you realize you have grown so fat that you could not even see your limbs. It is like day in and day out working and working that you realize you did not know what happen to the world around you and also why there were so many things in the house and you did not know it.

It seems that we were like robots, living day by day, not being present anywhere. There were lack of control over buying this and that without thinking. There were lots of accumulating without filtering whether it was a want or it was a need. There were lots of input with no output; lots of knowledge without practice; lots of knowing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle without actually experiencing it personally through discipline and practical application. How can we get out of this mess, this big big mess?

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The answer?
The solution?



Simplify.



But how to clear this big mess now?

Being committed to simplify, decide then what you need and those you do not need. Then keep those you need and discard or give away those you do not need to those who need them or sell those stuffs to gain back some cash as savings or charity.

Going forward, think before you purchase anything. Ask this question - "Is it a need or a want?"

Post Reminder Cards everyway -

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

:)

Living In The Desert

How is life in the desert like? It is certainly not like life having dessert. But you can end up enjoying so much blessings like milk and honey which are as good as dessert. The impression of desert life is dry, waterless, lifeless and totally empty. Yet in such estate, is God there?

In reading the account of the famous stories of children in the Bible, we came across the life story of the abandonment of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert. Being asked to leave the comfort lifestyle in the household of Abraham, Hagar and the boy ran out of water in the desert. She left the boy alone and walked away, unable to bear the sight of her boy dying of thirst.

But God heard the boy's crying as recorded in the Bible in Genesis 21. God spoke with Hagar. God comforted Hagar. God encouraged Hagar. God provided for Hagar and the boy. God opened the eyes of Hagar to see the well of water.

So did they leave the desert after that incident? No they didn't. They lived in the desert. The account records that God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and learned to shoot with a bow.

Are you experiencing a desert these days? God is in the desert. Experience Him and  learn of Him and He will give you rest.

:)

Living With The Good And Not-So-Good

A thought dawned on me today on living with the good and the not-so-good. Day in and day out, you and I are filled with these two aspects of life. The good and the not-so-good. You can see yourself in it as well. In fact we have lived with them so comfortably that they have somehow become part and parcel of our being and doing.

What are the good and the not-so-good? The good may be some aspects of your strength, your skills, your talents, your good looks, your wisdom, your gifts, your patience and your possession, your speed and so on and so forth. How about the not-so-good? This one may be just the opposite of the good.

Acceptance. How to live with the good and the not-so-good? For those who have learned to live with these, they have in some sense learned to accept them and use the good for good and the not-so-good while bear with the not-so-good and build them up if that is possible.

When you see the people we do not like, in your sense, you may categorise them as not-so-good (though who are you to categorise them in such a way, but we are not so perfect either - we are not-so-good actually). But somehow we respond to them different from those we consider the good. We treat them harshly. We classify them harshly as well.

What do you think? Can we do such a thing as this? I remember a story in the Bible. This story is the story of Noah and the flood. A lot of questions can fill our minds on why God sent the flood and destroyed the world. Was God fair in wiping out the world with the flood? Why only the eight was chosen and the animals?

I could paint a picture in my mind of a child drawing a first piece and then spotted a mistake and then tore the entire piece away and starting afresh. Imagine the master artist. He will do that. But the next question arose. God knew that there were still some not-so-good qualities in those eight who survived the flood.

How did God live with the good and the not-so-good? This is something for you and me to search and grapple with. In fact you and me are already grappling with each day and each moment. We lived with answers and questions our whole life - answers that aren't perfect answers, and questions without an applaudible answer.

:)

Doing And Or Being

Doing. Doing. Doing. The work just keeps piling up that we do not even have time for life. We are human beings you know. We just do not do things. We are beings.

I have heard that the more we do, the more we become. So what is the link between doing and being? The more we do, the more we be. Like the song by the Beatles, "It's been a hard day's night. And I've been working like a dog."

Yes soon we'll become a dog. Or we watch too much television, soon we become the television. We watch each other eventually. Or we play too much computer games, so much that the games take control of us. Every moment we are thinking about the game.

Also like between a couple meeting each other day in and day out. Day in and day out, they are thinking of each other and in their minds, the image of each other consumes them and fill their hearts and minds and dreams. Soon you can see they almost look alike.


The other thought also is whether it is true or not:

Without doing, there can be no being.
To find being, it involves you doing.
Too much of doing, you may lose being.
Too much of being, you may lose doing.

I am confused myself. Nevertheless, we need to build on doing certain things like reading a book together, walking the park together or dining together. These all need each one of us to be being there. In so doing, there is being. Life brings about purpose and meaning.

Yes I desire to grow in the knowledge of God's word, like Ezra in the Bible*. So there is a need to devote time to study and observance of God's law and to teaching. This involves intensiveness and discipline doing and dedication.

No other way.

* Ezra Chapter 7, verse 10
For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

:>

Let Go And Or Let's Go

We need to let go and let us go. We can so baggaged down by too many things and we are unable to move. Those too many things are mostly our pleasures and addictions which have a grip on our lives.

So when it is time to go, we tend to be hesitant; indecisive and take up time, especially everyone else's time as well. When one becomes unable to make up the mind, the rest are forced to wait until their patience are up to the limit.

So before those situations come, take time to let go. Think of the things that bottleneck, barge and block up the system. There maybe many things already blocking the way of escape, the escape to freedom and greater experiences in life.

Remember the story of the monkey who grapped hold of the goodies in the bottle but was not willing to let go and so was caught by the hunters. So isn't it time to take time to let go and let's go.

* let go of the Beyblade and let's go

:)