journey thru the wilderness

Often, we ask God “why” we are compelled into the wilderness. We grumble and complain in our lament and try to hurry our way into the Promised Land by forcing our own way or by seeking to return to Egypt to meet our needs in our time and through our own methods. The journey of all Christ-followers is a journey through the wilderness towards the Cross. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, the wilderness, the Cross, and the ultimate resurrection of Jesus all demonstrate that no matter the wilderness we find ourselves in, God will bring us through to life on the other side. We will not be delivered from the suffering of the wilderness, but with God’s help we can indeed be transformed by it.

- Margaret Manning, The Journey Through the Wilderness, Mar 10 2009.

need...sleep...

The unarguable demands that our bodies make for sleep are a good reminder that we are mere creatures...

- Lauren Winner, Books & Culture, January/February 2006, Vol. 12, No. 1.

not about what you want

Son, life is not about what you want...It's about how you cope with it there and then...

- Lo Wing Ee, 1952-2009

Well said, Mr Lo. Though I don't know you personally but these words shared by your son really taught me something. May God continue to bless and watch over your family.

baby donkey

If you come across an adorable baby in Turkey, you are to say that the baby looks like a donkey! This may sound ludicrous, but you are actually paying the baby and its mother a major compliment. This custom is rooted in the belief that there are evil spirits all around, which may grow jealous and cause bad things to happen to the little one. Hence to avoid bad luck, you deceive the evil spirits by uttering the opposite of what you mean.

- I’Ching Thomas, Attentive Eyes, 19th Feb 2009

Easiest Major

I majored in psychology, but only because it was the easiest major...

- Gene Weingarten, a humour writer for Washington Post Magazine.

How many other things are we missing?

"What do We Choose to See?"

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Seems like the experiment really took place and more details of the newspaper article could be read over here.

Feeling sorry...

Last Sunday morning, I was awaken abruptly by a dream. I felt rather disturbed by the dream and not too sure why. Just couldn't go back to sleep. The dream went like a flash and I couldn't make out clearly what took place but could only remember pieces of it. My heart felt heavy when I reached church. Then during the worship practice, somehow the dream made sense.

I thank God for showing me my sins and I know I did wrong.

I thank Him for loving me too.

Golf and fatherhood

AN OLD golf pro once told me that fatherhood has a huge impact on many professional players. According to him, something about having a baby calms a man down, makes him more focused, relaxed and ready to bring home the big prize.

- S Murali, The New Paper, Bundle of joy helps you get bundles of cash?, Dec 30, 2008

Letting go

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

"During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."

The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "

Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

- 1 King 3:16-27

The above passage has somewhat answer what has been bothering me. Rather let it go than see it torn apart before my eyes. Lord, I thank You for showing me the story...

Gandhi

Just want to share something written by Philip Yancy who had shown me what it means to 'turn to him the other [cheek] also'.

The movie Gandhi contains a fine scene in which Gandhi tries to explain his philosophy to the Presbyterian missionary Charlie Andrews.

Walking together in a South African city, the two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. The Reverend Andrew takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decide to run for it. Gandhi stops him.

"Doesn't the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?" Andrew mumbles that the thought of the phrase was used metaphorically. "i'm not so sure,"Gandhi replies.

"I suspect he meant you must show courage - be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work."

- Philip Yancy, The Jesus I Never Knew.

You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

- Matthew 5:38-39

Ben and Jerry

Since I like eating Ben and Jerry ice-cream (probably influenced by my wife), I went searching on Facebook for a group which gathers the BnJ ice-cream lovers. I found some amusing groups created for Ben and Jerry instead. :P

A Miracle

As I read the following article, was quite amazed by how God managed to provide for those who earnestly seek Him...

Perhaps as you look at our world today you wonder if God is still at work in such a way. I want to encourage you that He is, for in my work and ministry I have seen his provision.

Having been involved in Bible smuggling in China, I was intrigued to learn of a man named Chris who had gone out from the UK to do the same. Every three seconds someone in China becomes a Christian, but there’s a real lack of the Word of God there.

This is what happened to Chris: he and his team stood at the pickup point in China where they were to meet their contact, who would utter a password, and they would deliver their Bibles. They arrived with only minutes to spare, but the contact didn’t show up. Knowing they were being watched, the team started walking towards the edge of town as though leaving.

Hot and tired, they stopped at a nearby park for a drink of water, rest, and prayer. It was hard to understand why after all the difficulties God had brought them through that something had gone so wrong. They had looked to Him for provision and direction, and yet their mission had seemingly failed.

Soon the team became aware of three very ragged and dirty men under a tree behind them. Chris felt the Lord leading him to go over with some water. When he offered it, one of the men suddenly spoke the password very clearly in English. The rest of the team hurried over in amazement and pieced together the men’s story from the little Chinese that they knew.

Two years earlier, God had given a word to these Chinese men in one of their services that they should plan for this trip. He would lead them to this park, on this date, and have Bibles ready for them, which would be brought by white men from far away. Since they were all poor farmers, it had taken a long time for them to save the money for food and shoes for the trip.

The men had walked for two and a half months, mostly at night to keep from being arrested. Coming from the far north of China near Mongolia, they had climbed a range of snowcapped mountains, traveled through the desert, and crossed several rivers without a compass or any knowledge of the country. All they could explain was that God had shown them where to go.

How did they know the password? How could they speak it in English when they knew no English? How did they survive the heat and the snow without protective clothing? It could only be God.

When the men saw the Bibles, they cried and praised the Lord for a long time. They had brought cloth bags with them to carry the Bibles home, and inside each one was a small watermelon that they had carried all those miles as a gift of appreciation. Even though they had been without food for several days, they didn’t eat a single watermelon.

The team exchanged clothes with them and Chris explained what an honor it was to put on those dirty rags. The shoes were completely worn out, but the team chose to go barefoot and give up their own shoes, which fit the others perfectly. Apparently God had chosen each group member based in part on their shoe size. Many tears were shed as the team prayed for the Chinese and sent them back home with food and money for their journey.

- Amy Orr-Ewing, A Slice of Infinity (1825): Behold! Dec 4, 2008

Promotion

"There is no greater promotion than motherhood..." Mediacorp tv series, Sayang Sayang.

...and I repeat it to my wife. :P

I learnt a new word...

I'm actually a subscriber to 'Word of the Day' from Dictionary.com. Was checking my mails last Monday and I learnt the following new word to use in reverence of God...

genuflect \JEN-yuh-flekt\, intransitive verb:

1. To bend the knee or touch one knee to the ground, as in worship.
2. To be servilely respectful or obedient; to grovel.

Genuflect is from Late Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu, "knee" + flectere, "to bend."

I am tagged

I'm tagged by Emay!

Rules of the game:

1. Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself.
2. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.
3. At the end you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names.
4. No tagbacks!

Okay, here goes...

One. I have a habit of squeezing pimples on my scalp.

Two. From Sec4 till J2, I would wash my face whenever I go toilet.

Three. Had walked from my house to my primary, secondary and JC school early in the morning. Had a weird idea of taking morning walks to school that I study in. There was once JC Econs teacher drove past me and afforded to give me a ride but I just walked on. I think I was carrying a guitar then...

Four. When I was in Primary One, I couldn't get a bus back home because the bus didn't stop for me. Had to call my mum to fetch me. Later did I realised I had to flag for the bus.

Five. I missed one period of GP lesson because I was too engrossed reading a comic book that I forgot about to go for that last lesson of the day.

Six. I hardly answer my house phone because most probably the person is not looking for me.

Seven. During secondary school days, I used an old typewriter as a dumbbell to train my arms.

Eight. I used to fantasize about martial art moves while trying to get to sleep.

Nine. I have knocked a secondary school classmate's head on the table and his nose bled.

Ten. I have never cried at my grandparent's funeral...


People I want to tagged: funkygroovejive, taoying, Mic, Perlyn, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.