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Passion ... PassiTon??

Giggle wrote today ...

Wonder if you read about the case in Beijing, China, where a male teacher kicked and hit his student with a steel bar before throwing her out of a fourth-floor window to her death (Sep 26, ST)? How did you feel about it? I am totally disgusted with his behavior!! How could he do such a thing? I began to wonder if he went into this teaching profession with passion at all???

Don't you agree that it's easy to just keep a job and do the routine, but to do it well and to do it with love, it requires passion - and that's what makes the difference!

I've come across many teachers, pastors, church workers, Christian ministry staff, etc who are either very passionate about their job or not at all. You can tell - very easily, by the words they speak, you know if they are full of life and excited about sharing their lives. Sadly, sometimes, we enter a profession because that seems to be one of the "best" choice out of all the choices, and as a result, we accept the job because it's a job - perhaps more so because we need the income to survive, and not because we love what we are going to do.

I believe it's the same when it comes to learning, as a student - do we see learning as a chore or we are passionate and excited about new things we can learn and discover, besides enlarging our knowledge base.

Someone once shared with me that if you add a "T" in the word passion - it becomes passiTon (aka Pass IT on). It can be passing the passion of life on, or it could be passing the passion that Jesus (aka the "T" in the passiTon) has brought into our lives and hence becoming a living testimony for Him.

When we are passionate about what we do, we will make sure we do it to the best of our ability - not shortchanging ourselves, others and God. Accept the challenge from God today to live your life with passion - and do what He commits to your care with that excitement and love. The end goal? That He be glorified through our lives!

Code of honor and shame

Giggle wrote today ...

3rd visit to the doc - haha, really broke all my past records - never seen a doctor so regularly before. Well, thankfully, doc says I'm recovering a lot better than when I saw her last week - cough and cough until I can't even speak a sentence without being interrupted by the cough =P so no more MC - yey! but some more medicines =(

Anyway, was sharing with my lecturer how I felt so inspired every week after her lectures that I had reflections which I could blog about (she visits my blog too =) and I think I'm getting her curious about what I'm going to blog about for now ... haha =)

Well, today's lecture was on "code of honor and shame" and she was highlighting how different actions and words, status of the person, etc, during Jesus' time were interpreted according to this code. I haven't received the full set of notes from my subject rep. yet so I can't recall all the details but what struck me was the code for women during Jesus' day ...

For a women to be considered honorable, she must be someone that is shy, timid, not loud, not sexually aggressive (aka not one who takes initiative to say to a man "I like you"), etc. My! I wouldn't be able to fit in to that kind of society - haha, I'm definitely someone who will not be classify under "honorable" =) I can be quite loud (as in vocal) ... when something tickles me, I can really laugh heartily and loudly ... I believe in women having our rights and speaking it up ... I can be bold if I believe that's what I need to do ... so now you see =) Well, come to think of it, I think a lot of us, modern women, wouldn't be able to fit into the society of Jesus' time. *wink*

Besides, during Jesus' time, an honorable woman would be someone who's spoken of in relation to another person (probably her husband or someone in the family that is also honorable) - that's why widows are so marginalized in those days. No wonder God has to say in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Jesus turned the entire "code of honor and shame" topsy turvy - because all these are "obstructing" the expansion of the Kingdom of God! On many occasions, we find Him speaking to women, healing women, helping women. Aren't we thankful that our Savior is not a sexist and one who loves all He created with equal love, concern and care? Aren't we thankful that Jesus dared to challenge the legalistic ways (and legalism) of the leaders in His days when the issue at heart is not so much ritualistic living as opposed to living with compassion? Thank God for His teachings to the disciples which we can receive in our modern day as well. Thank God for freeing us from all these bondages of sin, legalism, etc.

Am I talking sense? Haha, I'm really brain-dead for now, esp. after such a long day and also without my notes - either I'll write another post on something similar in days to come, or I'll add on to this entry. Thanks for reading thus far =)

Syncretistic contextualization ... ??!!!???

Giggle wrote today ...

Dead-meat! I can't figure out head and tail about what my lecturer wants in the response paper that is due this week!!

According to the handout given, syncretistic contextualization seeks to accommodate various cultures, religions, and ideologies by selecting the best insights of all of them and evolving a faith that goes beyond any one of them - seems easy to understand yet difficult ... ?!?! =(

Worse still, got to use this contextualization method to apply it to one of the Chinese festival. Help, God? What to write? How to apply? What does the lecturer want? This lecturer is known for his very strict marking - maintaining consistenCy. I heard he will even fail his students!! Dead-meat! =(

Well, God does help lah - He sent people whom I can speak with to get better ideas about this syncretistic contextualization thingy ... giving me some ideas what they think this lecturer is expecting based on their experience ... advicing me how to approach this paper and so on ... BUT I've got to get everything together, and hopefully, I can write sense into the paper and generate out a paper between 500 to 800 words!!

OK, I'm claiming James 1:5 from God, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." I just hope that the inspiration will flow as I work on the paper, and the next prayer is that I don't fail the paper =) Help, Lord!

To all my classmates who are struggling with the same paper - all the best too!

That's flattering =)

Giggle wrote today ...

How do you feel when someone tells you, "You don't look your age! You look so much younger!!" =)

Haha, lately I've heard many people telling me this and it's really flattering =) I have a classmate who's the same age as me and he just marvel at the fact that we were the same age! *wink* And one of my former CG girl commented, "You're looking younger and younger!" Thanks =) Haha, gone were the days when people call you "auntie" =P All these statements are so flattering to a lady and it just makes her day *SMILE*

Well, maybe it's my long hair which makes a difference? I'm not sure, but my good friend kept encouraging me to just let it grow - that was more than a year ago, and I still remember how I resisted the idea, especially when I'm not someone who can stand heat when the weather's real hot. Well, I guess I got through the stage where the hair just curls inward and outward and whatever ward - that frustrating stage that all woman with long hair can identify - and now I have long hair! =)

Heehee, at least now people call you "xiao jie", someone even call me "girl" =) ok, I'm flattered =P

Students are always curious to know how old I am, and I will always say, "I'm 18" =) Somehow I just managed to kid them =P A woman's age is a secret, I'll leave you to guess how old I am =)

Well, whatever our age is, the Bible says that our life is 70 or perhaps 80 years, and it's important to make the most out of everyday and to live it to the fullest! "The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." Psalm 90:10

How are you living your days? Ask God for wisdom that each day will be well-spent and not one which we will regret. Carpe diem (Latin phrase meaning "Seize the day!")

Are we taking things for granted?

Giggle wrote today ...

Sigh* still not well after more than 1 week ... I have never been so physically down before - even mum's beginning to be worried ... =(

Went to a second doc yesterday (who gave me MC for yesterday and today) and got more medicines =( well, this time round the medication seems a bit more "effective" - at least my cough is much better, though still coughing ... but at least I'm not kept awake most part of the night just coughing and coughing - her medications really knock me out =)

I think sometimes in life, these are things we took for granted, isn't it? Good health, our family, opportunities to work and study, friends, etc.

I attended a night class on Wed - one which covers some major religion in our society, and it was something that interests me very much, especially when majority of my family members are not believers yet. I want to know more so that I can understand their beliefs better and also to know how to effectively witness to them.

In the introductory session, my lecturer showed us streets along some parts of our country which contain places of worship for some of the major religion here - can be easily up to 6 different places of worship of different religion just along a short distance apart from each other. He said something which I thought was so relevant and something which we had always taken for granted ... He said that in our country, we took it for granted that we can build a church and a temple next door to it, or a mosque and an Indian temple, etc - it doesn't happen in other countries at all! And here we are, taking religious freedom for granted.

See how many outbursts had happened in other countries because of a careless/thoughtless word spoken against another religion, and here we are, in a multi-racial, multi-religion country, and taking all these things for granted.

I guess most of us also take the chance of going to church for granted, so much so that if we can wake up on time, we will be in church. If not, then "let me sleep some more ..." sounds familiar ? How many of us make it a priority to be ready (I mean, spiritually) for church on Sunday morning? How many of us make it a point to get to church early (not just on time) so that we can prepare ourselves to meet with God? How many of us go to church to really listen, instead of being critical about the preacher or worship leader? How many of us go to church to really meet with God, and not just meeting with friends? Sadly, I think we treat God as someone we are overly familiar with, so much so that we don't accord Him with the respect and awe He deserves.

Let's remember also not to take our friends of other religion who have also all these while been so tolerant with us for granted. Let's take time to listen to them and understand their beliefs, before we plunge in to force the Gospel down their throat.

Are we losing our Christian witness? Are we taking things for granted? Must we learn through hard lessons before we knew the pain of losing something? Hopefully not.

Are we losing our Christian witness?

Giggle wrote today ...

Haha, I was literally feeding on sweets (sweets to relief cough, to be precise) the last few days - blame it on the irritating dry throat, and my muscle ache is slowly going away, though still aching now and then. And my inspiration is back!! =) Well, maybe my "retardedness" is also partly due to the semestral break at theological college - nothing to spur and stir up my thoughts =P pardon the whining ... anyway ...

During class and during chapel, I felt that God was asking the question, "are we losing our ground as Christian witnesses for Him?" Why do I feel this prompting from God?

This morning in class, my classmates did a presentation on Luke 7 regarding the woman who anointed Jesus at Simon, the Pharisee's house. The issue at hand was the hair of women in the Greco-Roman world - whether bounded or unbounded hair, and if either of it carries any implication, and what kind of hairstyle does the woman in Luke 7 has to be "noted" as the sinner of the town. I won't go into details on the presentation but I thought my lecturer sums up really beautifully the entire focus of Luke 7 ... it's not so much whether the woman has bounded or unbounded hair, but if persons of "questionable" characters were to appear in our church one day, are we able to handle the way Jesus did - with compassion and forgiveness, as opposed to Simon the Pharisee's opinionated judgment.

My lecturer mentioned that instead of making churches a place of welcome for those who need the Lord, we are building nice churches which deter people from entering, because they feel the church building is too nice, the language we speak is too perfect for them, our dressing are too upperty as compared to theirs - and they can't match up with us. She asked, "Are our churches losing ground? Are we losing our Christian witness? Are we bringing ourselves down to their level to reach out to them, or are we expecting them to rise up to our level so that we can communicate with them ... sometimes our church buildings are obstacles to the Gospel."

Sadly, I also feel that we are losing our Christian witness - we seemed to be focusing on issues that are not of primary concern and as she spoke, I just felt that "Hey, perhaps one of the reason for this is because we are too fearful of men's opinion, instead of the Lord's." Look back at Luke 7 - has it ever occured to you that when Simon thought secretly to himself about how Jesus should have responded that his thought was not prompted by his concern about Jesus' reaction, but perhaps "HOW DID THIS WOMAN GET INTO MY HOUSE? HOW ARE OTHERS GOING TO SEE ME? I AM A PHARISEE, THE RIGHTEOUS ONE, HOW CAN SHE BE FOUND HERE?" - that was a different angle I felt God was teaching me about this passage ... - the fear of men ... longing for the praises of men ...

Then at chapel, one of the faculty was preaching on Mark 9:30-37, and he highlighted that while the disciples should be concerned about fulfilling Jesus' command to minister, they are distracted by issues such as "who's the number 1 when Jesus becomes King?" - they were slow to understand the mission of Jesus ... they were afraid to ask ... and worse still, they were REALLY slow to understand Jesus' teachings - teachings about His impending suffering, teachings about being humble to serve and not clamor for positions of status, teachings about welcoming children, etc (see Jesus' teaching from Mark 8-9, and their repeated mistakes of what they should have learnt from Mark 10:13-16, 35-38)

Somehow it confirms what the Lord was telling me about this Christian witness thing - that in a way we are just so pre-occupied with looking out for praises of men that we lost our focus, we lost our touch in the ministry, we lost our base of communication and ability to communicate with people we need to minister to for Him.

The aspostle Paul in 1 Cor 19:19-23 challenges his readers to bring themselves to the level of the persons they are ministering to so that the Gospel may be shared. I guess his intention is not that we BECOME like those we mingle with, but we bring ourselves to understand them, to show compassion to them, to love them (but not their act) for who God has made them to be, and reach out to them. God approves of the sinner, though He disapproves of the act. You and I are good examples of His grace, isn't it? Are we then so selfish to hoard it for ourselves - we and we only?

Indeed, are we LOSING our Christian witness? Are our churches losing ground? Are we overly protected in our sheltered environment that we know not how to deal with people who are really in need of the Lord's grace? Are we too concern with getting men's praises, than getting the approval nod from the Lord?

You think about it ... and feel free to exchange comments and pointers with me ...

Just rattling ...

Giggle wrote today ...

Sigh* this muscle ache and cough is taking much longer than usual to recover =( making me a bit "retarded" in my thoughts and writing ... can't even write for the last few days coz I'm just so "conquered" by the discomfort, irritation and pain ... lacking in inspiration also =(

Anyway, I was supposed to post the picture of the butter garlic lobsters (my friend finally found the pix!!) we had at Phuket - somehow I just couldn't get the pix into the "Retreat" post, so I'll post it here - wonderful memories of good times together. Are you tempted at all? =p

The other pix that brings back memories is this "Drunken people crossing" sign which we spotted along the streets of Patong - all of us were laughing at the sign, and wondering "Is it drunken people crossing ... OR CRAWLING?" =)

Other than these pix that brought back memories of good times, I was also reminded of my experience in Hillsong Conference 2003, Australia, when I attended a church service at the East end yesterday - except that yesterday's experience was a much, much smaller scale, compared with the conference at Sydney SuperDome. However, it does make me wonder, "How does churches like such manage to attract so many people - the hall is BIG, and the ushers had to keep bringing in chairs because all the seats were filled up." Why is it people flock to churches like these, but yet for a lot of other churches, they come late, and with very sloppy attitude. What or where went wrong?

The other "highlight" of the week was chapel in school - having missed it for the last 2 months or so, I suddenly cherished and embraced it so much - looking forward to spending the time in God's presence with the girls. A colleague commented, "It's usually like this, we don't learn to appreciate what we have until these things are taken away from us ..." - how true! And of course, I got to catch up with a good friend over lunch after he spoke at chapel. Thanks for lunch and for hearing all my grouses! =)

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down,
his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Eccl 4:9-10

Thank God for giving us friends that we can share moments in our lives with :-)

Abbreviations

Giggle wrote today ...

We live in a world full of abbreviations. These days, it's common to read and hear terms like: btw, fyi, fya, stm, gtg, wth, omg, etc. Do you know what they mean?

Very quickly -
BTW - by the way
FYI - For your info
FYA - For your action
STM - Short term memory
GTG - Got to go
WTH - What the heck/hell (I wouldn't suggest you learn this =)
OMG - Oh my god/goodness

I'm sure there are more - just got to take more time to learn it from my girls to add on to the list so as to "connect" with them =)

Well, God doesn't use abbreviations, but He does gives us good acronyms to remember the blessings He showers upon us. Don't believe? Just check the following:-

BIBLE - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
GRACE - God's Redemption (or Riches) At Christ's Expense
GOSPEL - God Offers Sinful People Eternal Life
FAITH - Forsaking All, I Trust Him
FRET - Futile Responses Extinguish Trust
FAMILY - Father And Mother, I Love You

Amazing? There's one more even that is even more amazing!! John 3:16 sum up in just one word "VALENTINE". God telling you and me that we ARE HIS valentine! Check it out ...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Forced to rest =(

Giggle wrote today ...

Ouch! My terrible muscle ache and dry throat which finally developed into a slight fever today ... I actually had the symptoms few weeks ago but it only decided to manifest itself today =( Was I too complacent, thinking that since it was about 2 weeks ago these symptoms appeared and I was still fine even after mingling with some sickly people, I should be fine after all? Sigh* ... pride ... thinking that I'm super woman and "forcing" myself to go beyond what my body can manage =(

Nonetheless, on the flip side, being forced to rest gives me insights and reminder to some realistic lessons I should learn:-

1. The world still revolves even if I'm resting

2. I'm not indispensable - somehow someone will be able to cover your scope of work for you

3. When God reveals some symptoms that you need to note, take heed, otherwise He really have to "force" you to stop doing and go rest

4. Nobody's going to take care of you if you don't take care of yourself - mum had been boiling all the "liang teh" for me the past 2 weeks and I've been drinking lots of them, but still ...

5. Sleep may seemed to be the most "futile" thing, especially when you have deadlines and many jobs to complete - but if you need to sleep in order for the body to rest, YOU JUST HAVE TO SLEEP!

I think many times, we are just people who worry too much - or to put it in other ways, we are just people who are "proud", thinking too highly of ourselves, that if we collapse, things will crumble and fall ... Pride of life!

OK, I've learnt it - I'm going to sleep the day away if my body says so =) Will have to see doc later so better learn to behave before someone else reprimand me again =p

Movie "I am Sam" - after-thoughts ...

Giggle wrote today ...

Did you watch last Saturday's movie "I am Sam" on TCS 5? A real good one - if you didn't manage to watch it, go borrow the DVD and make time for it. A real sad but touching story which taught me a great deal of lessons - haha, like what my lecturer said, "even through movies God can speak and we can learn lessons" =)

Well, to summarize what the movie's about ... "I am Sam" revolves around the life of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn - thumbs up for his superb acting. He's totally "absorbed" into his character!) who is autistic and has the mental capacity of a 7-yr-old. His wife left him immediately after their daughter was born. He was left to raise her up on his own - which he did a great job in learning and adjusting to his new father role. As his daughter grows older, she began to realize that her father was somewhat "different" and she began to hold back her learning ability (she's a brillant kid) so that she will not surpass her dad intellectually. Sam somehow got into trouble with the law (which in his innocence he did not even know what had happened) and as a result the welfare dept felt that he does not have the ability (especially intellectually) to continue looking after his daughter and had her put in the home awaiting adoption.

It was sad (prepare your tissues) as you watch how Sam tried very, very hard to show to the welfare dept that he is able to be a good father - trying to convince his boss to give him a promotion and pay rise and that he has the ability to perform ... getting extra jobs to supplement his income because he needs to pay for his legal fees in fighting for custody of his daughter ... learning how to count and pay money at the counters ... trying his best to express his well intentions to the court, etc etc. In short, it's heart-breaking, especially when you see how people snub him and did not want to even believe in him, and Sean Penn played his character really well!

Back to the point, so what did I learn? I learnt that our society (and we included) are very "cruel" and lacking in compassion for people with such "intellectual disability". Often, we shun them because we don't know how to relate to them ... often, we exclude them because we don't want them to be a "burden" ... often, we think they cannot understand or express themselves and so we deprive them of chances to speak up ... often, we think that our good intentions are what is good for them without considering if it breaks their hearts and go against their wishes at all ...

Through the show, I felt that those who benefitted so much more than Sam were his lawyer (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and his daughter's adoptive parents - they learnt from him what genuine and sincere love is ... honesty and integrity ... showing love to the best of his ability to his only child ... trying his very best despite his inability in many areas, etc. Well, the show does have a good ending and his daughter's adoptive parents agreed to a joint-custody of the child with him as they saw how attached his daughter was to him ... how much his father meant to her ... how much the child meant to him, etc.

The other lesson I learnt was how Sam's friends (almost all of them were "incapable" intellectually" - autistic, Down Syndrome, etc) were so loyal and stood by him from the time he began raising his daughter as a baby till she grew up ... how they chipped in all the money they had so that he can buy a pair of shoes his daughter loved very much ... how they tried very hard to testify for him in court, etc. Wonderful friends - although in the eyes of the world, they might be considered insignificant.

Over the years, I noticed that there is an increase in the trend of children disgnosed with autism, ADHD, etc - and it's sad because these are kids with special needs but yet we are often impatient with them. True, we don't know how to manage them or deal with them, but it doesn't give us the excuse to avoid them, shun them, or be "cruel" in our dealings with them because we think we "know best" and they don't. For all you know, God may be using them to teach you precious lessons you can never learn from other places and people - just like going on mission trips - when we go with the intention of wanting to "bless, bless, bless the people we meet", very often their simplicity and contentment with life, their genuine faith in the Lord rubs on us more than the intended blessings we want to shower on them.

God's heart beats with more compassion for those who are deprived more than those who are fortunate - allow your heart to beat with His if He brings your paths to cross with theirs. Would you?

Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1

Giggle wrote today ...

Ever wonder what Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1 have in relation to each other?
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 8:1 "And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."

Before Jesus' ascension, the apostles were commissioned to bring the Good News, beginning from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Jesus also promised them the power from the Holy Spirit. We read that after Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles went back to their homes and preached the good news of the Lord to fellow Jews. On the surface, they seemed to be contented with what they were doing and where they were. So what happened to going into "all Judea and Samaria"?

One of the night class lecturer once pointed out that while Acts 1:8 speaks about the power of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, Acts 8:1 we see the disciples being "shaken" out of their comfort zone, as they were forced to bring the Gospel with them to wherever they were scattered to - that's when the Great Commission "finally" materalized.

Are we too comfortable with what we have and who we are that at times when God command us to step out of our comfort zone to accomplish His will, we choose to stay put instead? Do you think Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1 is mere coincidence? I don't think so =) *wink*

Stubborn stains

Giggle wrote today ...

Have you ever had the experience of feeling so frustrated with stains that seemed irremovable - and the more you focused on them, the more upset you become? Well, it could be stains on some pots and pans ... it could be stains on your favourite piece of clothings ... it could be stains on your teeth (SMILE!) ... it could be stain marks caused by some ink on your fingers, etc.

I was trying very hard to remove the nail polish on my fingers and toes - the ones I did when I was in Phuket. The more I looked at it, the more "yarky" I feel - the coat was really rough and the polish was far from smooth and shiny, and of course not to mention the "mismatching" color I chose, which actually was the "best" within their limited selection that matched my complexion. Anyway, I decided to have it remove before my fingers and toes "died" from lack of oxygen and begin to turn yellowish. Well, not being someone who had the habit of painting my nails, I don't have the nail polish remover within reach, hence I had to make a special trip to purchase it. According to the salesgirl, the nail polish remover she recommended me was C&G (cheap and good) and since it was the last bottle, I just grabbed it.

Now, guess what? I had a hard time removing all the nail polish from my nails - I think it took me 10 minutes just to do the removing of the coat from both my fingers and toes - which I considered to be very long. Usually, a good remover would do the work fairly quickly (at least from my previous experience some time back =) It began to dawn on me that either the remover was not of as good quality as it was recommended to me, or that the coat on my nails were so stubborn that it refused to "budge". I was reminded then that the sins in our life are just like the stubborn coat of polish on my nails - and to counter the stubbornness, we need a good, quality remover - the blood of our Lord Jesus.

Our sins can be so stubborn that it can stick with us, making us frustrated ... making us upset ... making us guilty. The good news is that we don't have to carry on feeling this way because the Lord has provided us with a stain remover - check it out from Isaiah 1:18, Heb 9:14 & 1 John 1:7 if you don't believe me.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

God has provided the cleansing agent, take it and believe in its power!

Readings and assignments

Giggle wrote today ...

Ever since coming back from the retreat, my days have been spent in reading, reading and more reading. Well, I guess that's because I want to try my best to clear as many of my lighter assignments during this break - as much as possible, before the school term begins again next Monday and I'm caught with a whole load of stuff and responsibility again. Well, at least I managed to finish reading 2 of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles - and wrote my reflection papers for all 3 of them. There's definitely touching-up required on these papers, but at least I can take a little breather for this subject and concentrate on the term paper - which I begin to worry how and where to start writing from =(

Much as I'm worried about my NT, I'm equally concern for my papers for FCM too. 2 more response paper - which I don't think I can begin until we had our classes with our lecturers ... sigh* Then there's one more major paper for FCM too, and a week before this paper is due, there's NT exam! Arrgghhh ...

Well, actually I shouldn't be complaining lah - to be able to concentrate and have no worries about other concerns but just focus on my studies, I should be more than thankful to the Lord. Indeed, I am, I'm thankful for the opportunity to pursue further studies, to equip myself not just in terms of knowledge but ministry skills - that's something I'm really grateful for. However, in the midst of all these, I must also constantly remind myself that this education is not just for the intellect, but a process of growth in the Lord.

My chaplain reminded me to "take time to chew, reflect and enjoy my assignments" - I fully agree. Education, tests, exams, assignments are part and parcel of learning - it's not these that make-up what we are, but the process of learning, the joy of learning, and allowing ourselves to be shaped by God. My only prayer is that as I work through all my assignments, I'll remember not to allow "knowledge to puff up within me, but love" (MOV 1 Cor 8:1b) and at the same time, as I study and learn more about God, that I will continue to meditate on His Word, so as to be careful to obey Him in all my ways (Joshua 1:8).

I'm still worried about my 2 major assignments - but this is a faith journey where God wants me to learn to depend on Him and trust Him. I know He will not shortchange me =)

Temperaments, of animals

Giggle wrote today ...

I think I'll write something light-hearted for a change - on the temperaments of animals =)Animals have temperaments too, and for each of the pet that I kept, their temperament differs =)

Well, let me begin with my pomeranian, Rocky, in memory and "respect" for him - actually, he was the second "Rocky" we had. The first pomeranian we "inherited" from my bro-in-law, who was already named Rocky, was ailing when he came to us, and subsequently died of kidney failure =( Although we had him for less than 6 months, the emotional attachment was already very strong that we cannot bear the thought of not having another dog. That was how we bought little Rocky and named him the same as the previous pom. He was only 1 month or so old when we bought him and we had a great time seeing him grow into adulthood. He was a super, super, super glutton and ate anything from plain bread to steamed yam to durians to dog tidbits and chocolates and ... - as a result, he had heart failure because his heart could not support his weight - he was about 7kg or so for his rather small-medium frame. One unique trait about him - though he was called Rocky, he was less than being "rocky" and bold - just put 4 poles on the floor and he will be caged =) My best friend used to "mock" and "tease" him for his cowardice =) He was super sweet-natured though and he remains my favourite =)

After Rocky died, we got Jolly, a maltese when she was about 2 months old - we wanted her to be happy all the time, so the name =) Tell me if you think she's jolly enough to be Jolly *wink* Jolly has mood swings - if she's happy, she will be up on her tummy and wanting you to give her a good rub (my sis says she's so liberal because she was imported from Australia =) My mum doesn't think too great a deal about it and always chided Jolly for being an "embarassment" for her tummy-up behavior. By the way, Jolly's a real fierce one, ok ... - 2 of my students have got bitten by her before when they tried playing with her. She's easily provoked, and I think she "thinks very highly of herself" too - maybe it's because she's the "da-jie" amongst all her animal siblings. We are always afraid of meeting with bigger dogs whenever we bring Jolly out because she would bark excessively at the bigger dogs and even wanted to bite them. She doesn't look like this fierce ya? Don't judge a dog by the cover.

Next, let's come to Toby, my mongrel crossbred - we inherited him 2 years ago from a friend's brother. He is very good-natured - in fact, we were worried how he is going to get along with Jolly when she can really give him no peace, but sweet-natured Toby would so readily give in to Jolly and so accepting of her faults =) Toby's supposed to be a watchdog for us, but he's becoming lazier and lazier - all thanks to my sis who keep feeding him whenever he gives her that "cutie" look - and you guess it - the vet says he's quite weighty now ... wink* Oh, one thing I must mention about Toby - he has motion sickness!! Don't laugh k - that was my reaction when my friend's brother told me about it and now, I "regret" that stupidity ... Each time I bring him out in a car, I'll have to make sure someone comes along with me, with a plastic bag inside a pail, ready for him to throw up whenever he feels so. As a result, Toby hardly goes out but runs about in the garden chasing wild cats =)

Now, the exciting one - the youngest in the animal family, Brownie my cat. This fellow is the super mischievious one - he will purposely make you chase him and then he will run all over the house and hide in corners or spaces he can find to surprise you. Isn't it evident from the picture how he squeezed himself underneath the space in the side table? Brownie's very conscious of cleanliness - every since my sis brought him back (he was a stray - probably a month old or so??) we have been bathing him weekly. I believe you will be amused if I tell you that there were 2 occasions which he slipped into the drain as he went galivanting and he hurriedly run home to us - not even daring to lick his dirty fur on his own =) Brownie has a very wild nature and if he manages to slip out of the house, he won't be back till at least 8 hours later, hence, since a year ago or so, mum has stopped letting him out of the house. Interestingly, he's toilet trained (somehow, don't ask me how) - so we will lock him in one of our toilets during the night and let him out in the morning. He's a creature of habit so he's very used to it now =) I think I mentioned in one of my earlier post that he's behaving quite a fair bit like his doggie sibling - wanting people to stroke him too when we give attention to the others.

Animals are just like humans - they are unique and have their own temperaments. I really thank God for all these animals in my life - they are really a joy to me and my household =)

On uniforms

Giggle wrote today ...

After a few days away, there are really lots of emails to clear and newspaper to read. Anyway, something which kind of strike a chord in me was the section on "Uniform" - Sunday's ST. Well, of course with the issue of uniform, there is always an endless debate of "Yes, let's have uniforms", or "No uniform please". But what's important in all these issues actually, with regard to uniforms? Probably the issue of how to take pride in wearing your uniform if you are expected to wear it.

Having uniforms actually give a number of advantages:-
1. You don't have to worry about what to wear everyday! Save money on your wardrobe =)
2. There's uniformity which represents an organization - if there's no uniform, nobody knows where on earth you are from or who you represent
3. It teaches you to be careful so as to be a good representative of your organization - a good way to cultivate character and discipline
4. It makes you take pride in where and who you belong to if your organization receives recognition for the good that they did

I know many teenagers who "hated" their school uniforms - I mean, I don't "blame" them as some of the reasons they stated are rather valid too, especially when it concerns the material which just causes them to prespire and "faint". However, I also know of many teenagers who simply do not know how to respect their uniform - a basic representation of their character, actually. I mean, if someone wears a uniform in an appropriate manner, straightaway, it reveals to others what sort of character this person is - indifferent, lacking in discipline, unkempt, etc, etc.

I think you will probably be amused at me (like one of my classmate at theological college was) if I tell you I chose my Alma Mater because of its uniform =) Oh yes, besides being able to qualify for the school, the main reason for choosing it is because of the uniform, and I know many others from the school who shares my sentiments =) Wonder which school that is? The clue is - it has blue top and grey skirt, with a tie that we have to put on everyday. Got it? Smart fellows =) Ya, I can be so "crazy" still about the uniform that I had 2 bears in my Alma Mater's uniform sitting in my office's bookshelf, and I get really upset when I drive past the vicinity of my Alma Mater and see girls wearing their uniform inappropriately!!! =(

Do you know that as Christians, we have a "uniform" too! Some of us wear a cross as our "uniform", some of us pin "Christian" badges on our bags, the ordained ones will have their collars, some of us have "Christian" car de-cals on the windows of our cars, etc. Whatever "uniform" we wear to represent Christ, we have to be careful that we do so with pride, for many others are looking at us to see what our "organization" is like, and if we want to be good ambassadors for the Lord Jesus, may we be careful with the "uniform" we wear and not stumble another that they become drifted further away from the Gospel of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20a "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."

You and I are wearing the uniform as Christ's ambassador - let's wear it properly and wear it with pride! Just as I got upset when seeing my juniors not wearing their uniforms properly, I'm sure God's heart hurts and grieves even more if He sees us not wearing our Christ's ambassadors' uniform rightly.

Retreat

Giggle wrote today ...

I was away for a 4-day retreat in the island of Phuket - an annual staff retreat. When friends and classmates heard about it, they were so envious. Real funny when one of them said, "Oh, I thought you are going to say Bukit ... Timah, or Bukit ... Batok, or Bukit ... Panjang. Phuket! What good life!" =) And of course I got the same response from my lecturer when I told her I'll be missing her class on Friday because the group is leaving early that morning =)

Well, it was a good restful time - away from the crowd, listening to God, catching up with other colleagues. There's of course the "serious" side and the "fun" side. I'll try and recall these as I share them with you ...

The "serious" side
The retreat was a good time of listening to the Lord. It was a time when we are reminded to connect (1) to God, (2) to self, (3) to others, (4) to church/school.

Throughout the retreat, I'm very, very clear that God was reminding me the importance of staying connected with Him in all areas of my life - because only then will I not depend on my own strength and end up being frustrated. And by staying connected with God, He will show me the next step and I will not end up running ahead of Him and getting myself into all the mess that He will afterward have to untangle. Matthew 11:28 and Isaiah 43:1-4 (esp. vs 2) were what I felt the Lord telling me, and of course the reminder from the song "Great is Thy faithfulness" - nothing beats the faithfulness of God and His promises to us! =) The caution is therefore our pride, as we sometimes think we know better than the Lord ... we depend a lot on our own experiences, intuition and feelings, etc. Pastor K reminds us that "nothing sets a person so much outside the devil's reach as humility" which he also rephrase as "nothing sets a person so much outside staying connected with God as humility". How true - the humility as God's children as we come before Him. It's all about identity - knowing who we are and whose we are.

Pastor KM spoke about the need to center our lives around the Lord, allowing Him to mold us, and surrendering our wills to Him as he reminded us about the need to connect with ourselves. It's all about integrity.

Pastor W spoke about us as intercessor as we connect with others. It's interesting that he uses 3 chairs, one stacked upon another, to illustrate his point - God is the foundation chair, we are the ones in the centre as the intercessor, and others represented by the chair in between us and God. He reminded us about praying for our schools and our churches - leaders who are sometimes "sandwiched" in between policies and people.

The rest of the session were spent discussing on how we could improve our ministries in the schools - sharing ideas with each other, our struggles and concerns etc, and of course a proper Holy Communion closing service.

The fun side
Well, it was definitely a retreat where I got to know a number of my colleagues from other schools better. We only meet once a month and for formal meetings, so there really wasn't enough occasions for such catching up except until retreat.

Hmm... it was so interesting how we went galivanting around the vicinity of Patong Beach and having pampering sessions together =) 5 of us went for a real good 2-hr traditional Thai massage to loosen our muscles and joints during our evening free slots. It was so good that a few of the others went again the next day =) As I recall back, it's really amusing that we rather go hungry and have our pampering session first - coz by the time we finished our massage session, it was like 8.30pm (Singapore time 9.30pm!) and by then our minds were not connected with our thoughts because we were SO HUNGRY! And the worse thing that could happen then was we walked the wrong direction, away from the seafood restaurant that we wanted to have dinner at. Only after walking for about 20 minutes did we realize we were on the wrong tracks and had to "keblakan busing" - by then we were almost "crawling" because we were so so so so hungry =p Of course we found the place we wanted (Savoey, a highly recommended one =) and had a sumptuous dinner. We ordered (1) Tom Yam Soup, (2) a veg, (3) 2 garlic butter lobsters, (4) fresh prawns cooked with chilli sauce, (5) fresh fish grilled (salted) - real heavenly as we taste the freshness of the seafood! My colleague took some pictures which she said she will email to me, so when I get it, I'll try to post it here - real big tempting lobsters - haha, hopefully her skills is good enough to show it off *wink*

The next day we went back to the same area, looking for some more pampering sessions. From Famous Five (the original 5 of us), we "upgraded" to Secret Seven =) some of us went for manicure/pedicure, some went for foot reflexology, some went for some more massage =) well, the 3 of us who went for manicure/pedicure concluded that for the price we paid for (S$12 for both), we cannot have too high an expectation - the work is so "rough" and the session so "non-pampering" =( The dinner that night was also rather disappointing - we had Thai food this time round, but the service staff at the restaurant was rather rude (I mean, really really rude and with real bad attitude), so that kind of spoil our moods ...

The final night was real fun - our crazy colleagues came up with the idea of having each group putting together an "MTV" using the music they gave to us (one Mandarin song, one Cantonese song, one English song, one Marcarena, one Tamil song), and we are supposed to have "stupid" items (like shower cap, wig, coconuts, toilet roll, etc) included in the act - and guess what, I had to order 2 coconut juice on 2 separate nights during dinner just to ensure that I get the items for the group ... but oh, we all had fun. It was the craziest time we all had in the entire retreat. Even the few pastors who came along with us participated so spontaneously and we were all bursting out and laughing non-stop =) wink*

In conclusion
On the whole, this retreat was really a good time away from the madness and the rush of our usual everyday life =) And of course, it was a also a good time catching up with some reading that I need to do for my theological studies =P ... a lot more to read though =(

It has also been a time of wonderful encounter with God as He reminds me: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2

If you are feeling tired or having uncertainties in life, may this verse remind you of the wonderful promises and faithfulness of God. Take a step back - retreat backwards before God tell you to move on ahead and forward =)

In honor of teachers

Giggle wrote today ...

As usual, 31st August is dedicated to celebrating Teachers' Day in school - the usual concert and gifts from students, lunch from the Parents' Support Group, and then it's a day off for the rest of the day, and tomorrow too! =)

It's good that there's a day set aside each year for us to honor our teachers - those who have taught us, or those who had inspired and impacted our lives. It feels funny that in school I'm considered a teacher (though not formally one as I don't teach subjects but take charge of the Christian aspects of the school plus CCA) and I get gifts and wishes from students too, but when I'm at theological college, I'm a student and I myself give gifts/cards to my teachers/lecturers =) Sounds somewhat funny and "weird" *wink*

My school has a tradition of honoring teachers of teachers - each year, the younger teachers who come back to the school to teach will take time on this special day to honor teachers who had taught them before during the celebration. This is also our way of teaching the students what respect is - that respect for teachers don't just end when we leave school, or when our teachers leave us. Respect is life-long.

Personally, I feel that it's a privilege to be in the ministry of teaching - having the chance to inspire lives and to impart/share what God has taught us. Maybe that was the reason that kept me going for the last 15 years, from teaching Sunday School classes to being involved with Youth Ministry and Cell Groups, and now working in a school context. 1 Corinthians 4:2 reminds us that "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." - what is the "trust" that we who are given this teaching privilege must prove faithful in?

Ivan Welton Fitzwater wrote "The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the potential for good or bad. Several future presidents are learning from me today; so are the great writers of the next decades, and so are all the so-called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy. I must never forget these same young people could be the thieves and murderers of the future. Only a teacher? Thank God I have a calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant everyday, lest I lose one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow."

Each life is precious - for all are created unique and special by God. We cannot afford to be careless with the lives entrusted to our care - that's why I choose to be not just a teacher/mentor to my girls, but a friend too. I enjoy those moments when they will just drop by my office and rattle off their problems, confide their troubles and fears, and sometimes even sharing nonsensical talks/jokes - but one taboo my girls know that is, in my presence, there is absolutelty no using of vulgarities, especially the "Sugar Honey Ice Tea" word. *wink*

I'm thankful to God too for giving me wonderful lecturers in theological college - lecturers who are also like friends - haha, I've even invited a couple of them to visit my blog too =) Thanks for sharing your experiences and convictions with us - reminding us theological education is not just about the intellect, but a spiritual journey - and cautioning us not to toll the line but to be bold for the works of the Lord.

Once again, let us be reminded, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." - 1 Corinthians 4:2. Indeed, may we truly be found faithful for the works of the Lord ...

Find Us Faithful (Words & Music by Jon Mohr, sung by Steve Green from "People Need The Lord" album)
Verse 1

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Verse 2
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives
Chorus
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Verse 3

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift though all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find
Repeat Chorus

For all who are teaching - have a blessed Teachers' Day!

Just for laughs ...

Giggle wrote today ...

OK, I think I've been the butt of friends' jokes these 2 weeks =) It's ok - as long as they have fun, I have fun, and no harm done, that's what's important =P

Well, if you read my post 2 weeks ago, "Haha, what a day", you will probably notice the part where I totally embarassed myself in the school when my colleague from the general office announced over the PA system to get me to remove my car which she said was blocking a lorry trying to get out of the school. And I mentioned a male colleague laughing his head off. Ya, since that day, each time I see him, he would be asking me, "So did you park your car properly?" ... or otherwise I would automatically tell him, "Yes, I parked my car very nicely - it didn't block anything." =) And then just on Monday, the entire staff were treated to hi-tea at Marriot Hotel, I asked him if he drove to town, he replied, "No, I didn't want to block any lorry" and burst into laughter. Well, friends ...

Then there's a lecturer who called my name in such a way that it sounded like a city that collapsed when Joshua was tasked to conquer it (go find out yourself k, it's in the Bible =P, and ever since then, my mischievious classmates have been calling me by that. Ya, and they even want to march round me the same way Joshua and the Israelites did to make me tumble and fall =) Hahaha ...

And today, we were learning about mind-mapping and since most of us were new to this mind-mapping concept, we were given a little practice to draw out a list of items in the shopping list as a mind-map. Now, guess what? There's "fish food" in the list and for a moment, I really cannot figure out what fish food is - dumb right =) wink* and guess where I put the item under? SEAFOOD!! And my friends were like laughing their heads off; and my lecturer has to "rub it in" and say, "Next time if you want to bring her for seafood, just give her fish food" =) *Grin* I just can't stop laughing ... oh my, I laughed till I tear ... and I laugh till I got muscle ache =P and well, of course the other stupor from me that made my friend laugh her head off was my "miscellaneous" (like wine, toiletries, batteries, dog food, etc) was really miscellaneous! Haha, whatever I can't find a category to put under, I classified it as miscellaneous lor =) Well, what to do, my job is to ferry my mum here and there for her grocery shopping, she do the buying, I just do the carrying and driving what ... - mummy never teach me leh ... =P

So you see, such "friends" have I ... sigh* - laughing their heads off at my expense ... hmmm... aiya, but never mind lah, I'm not the petty sort that will be upset with them. Laughter is therapeutic - as mentioned earlier, as long as we all have fun and there's no harm done, that's ok. Go ahead, laugh it off - laugh at my expense, I'm fine =)

Aren't you glad that God gave us the ability to laugh, and friends to laugh with :0)

Just babbling ...

Giggle wrote today …

I think I’m falling sick – signs of muscle ache, signs of dry throat … oh, I dread being sick! =( Well, I guess if I continue to push myself so hard or if I don’t watch my health, then God is really going to force me to rest =( But can’t be helped!! So much to do, and there seems to be so “little” time – all the readings which by God's grace I have still been able to accomplish according to schedule (think of it … I’ve never read so much in my entire life, and I have NEVER been so disciplined to read all that I’m required to! =); all the assignments that seem unending; all the work that seems to pile up soon if I don’t clear them quick enough; all the marking that I need to finish before the close of the term this week; all the nitty-gritties that needs attention – at home, in school, friends, personally, etc … Phew, I need a rest! I need a break! I need a holiday!

Why do people not believe that I can be ill-disciplined too? Friends always say, “You, worried about deadlines? Please, you are one of the most discipline one k …” Oh, thank you for having so much faith and trust in me, but sometimes such statements are so “pressurizing” – I mean, the underlying implication is that people put so much of their trust in you that you just can’t bear to let them down, isn’t it? And as a result, no matter what, you just have to produce and produce and produce – no wonder my plate is filling up more and more =(

Somehow, after these 2 months of church visitation, I kind of “enjoy” being “lazy” for a while, that is, not committed to serving in any ministry =) I guess to a certain extent, I need the break … so it became a bit “scary” and “stressful” when I kept getting messages asking me when I’m going back to the Mandarin service to lead worship and play keyboard … I know you guys are short-handed, but give me a little more time to rest can, I haven't had any sabbatical since I began teaching in Sunday School 15 years ago! =P Aiya, but knowing me, so long as I get back to church after the field education program ends, my heart will be so softened that I will say “OK” immediately to all your “pleadings” =(

Sigh* and all the marking is just making my eyes so tired and strained – especially those words that I can’t make head or tail of … the writings that got “squashed” together … the sentences that I can’t make sense ??? Please, my dear girls, if you want to submit journals that are written, write them legibly and neatly. You are causing my eye power to increase in degree and decrease in strength =(

Help! Bring me out for coffee ... bring me out for a break ... God multiply my time!

Creativity ... confidence

Giggle wrote today …

Last Saturday during the national event, the best presentation in Estherfez competitions for the various genres were showcased. Well, to give a bit of background, the entire year’s focus was on the book of Esther, raising a generation of “Esthers” – teaching the girls through weeks of devotion to model after Queen Esther and to live out God’s purpose for their lives. After that, there were a series of competition which included online blogging about the person or on the book of Esther, then there’s a segment on making some artefact or sculpture, an online Bible Quiz, and finally a competition during June where original compositions of the various genres were presented and graded – all focusing on lessons learnt from Esther.

I’m super impressed by what girls in the other schools could come up with. I mean, from the same book and from the same person Esther, there can be so many different ideas of presenting the main story line or some prominent lessons to be learnt.

Of course, I must say that I’m very proud of my own girls who won the best song in this genre – praise God for giving them talents to write their own music and words! 3 cheers for you all! =)

The other genres were really good too – the dance, the drama which uses puppets enacting the scene of new telecast of Susa’s beauty pageant results, Esther’s fear and reason for Haman’s downfall as he received interviewed in the “prison”. Oh my, it was hilarious yet educational in bringing out the whole story in the book of Esther.

The school that won the best multimedia also did a great job! Using vegetables and eggs to “enact” the entire story, King Xerxes as Pineapple, Queen Esther as Carrot, and “till rotting do they part” as they marry – Oh, I just couldn’t stop laughing =) Then, when the edict was to annihilate the Jews were announced, how Mordecai turned from a Green pepper and becoming pale (yellow pepper) to becoming angry (dark red, or was it black??) – really funny. And of course, the possible “torture” the Jews (represented by eggs) would have to go through if they disobey the edict of the king – crushed in a blender, cracked and fried on a pan, boil till they crack in the hot water … Aiyo, I just couldn’t stop laughing … and I’m simply amazed at God’s creation and blessing of different talents and gifts to each person.

Where is the limit when it comes to creativity? The sky’s the limit? These days, students are challenged to be innovative, think creativity, think out of the box, and so on. Whatever it is, one lesson that can be learnt is that God gives to different person different talents, gifts and abilities – and our job is to recognize what they are and use them to glorify God instead of being lazy and hide them (read Parable of the Talents, Matt 25:14-29). At times when we feel we lack in confidence, ask of the Lord – He will help when we call on Him.

Just today, I was re-affirming my HDC that she has grown so much over the last few months since taking over the leadership role – how she used to always fret and comment, “I did very badly right, I knew it …”, “I cannot do it, oh no, how …?” to now being able to manage and handle a great deal of situations on her own with little help here and there. What I’m thankful is that she has really been teachable and ready to listen to what I have to advice her or even correct her. It has been a joy mentoring her and watching her grow so much over the last few months. But, please my dear, study hard and don’t make me worry for you – God can give you the ability to do well in your studies as much as He has helped you grow in the aspects of confidence. Remember our challenge to each other, that we must both do well in our studies and glorify God? We can do it, ya? =)

Feeling blue? Then say, "I do" - HUH ??

Giggle wrote today ...

Did you come across the health supplement in Wednesday's ST Pg 5, which reads "Feeling blue? Then say, "I do." "

The short report basically says that if you are depressed, you should get married as it will help alleviate symptoms of depression. Hmm... what's your response to that?

OK, I had to admit that I'm very sceptical about this whole report. Getting married for the sake of getting out of depression? My! isn't marriage supposed to be more than that? Shouldn't it be the union of 2 persons who ought to be good helpmates for each other - bringing out the best in one another? Shouldn't marriage be something that is give-and-take for both parties, than something beneficial for only one party? Little wonder why so many marriages are breaking down. Heard statements like this before, "if this is not working, let's get out of it"? Lots on it from TV and thanks to all these, it has "succeeded" to propagate the minds of today's society. Marriage becomes like child-play - something to the effect that "If I like that, let's enter into it. If I don't, let's get out of it." What has the world become?

I mentioned before in my post "Finding Mr Perfect" that relationship is NOT a trend or fashion fad for us to follow or keep up with - we don't have to be afraid of losing out just because we're not IN! I still stand by that, and I want to challenge you too, to look to the Lord for His perfect timing and meanwhile, seek God first for He will take care of the rest of our concerns and worries for us, don't you agree?

Feeling blue? Then say, "I do" - NO WAY! But rather Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - isn't God someone who can take away your blues better than anything else?

Totally exhausted

Giggle wrote today ...

I'm totally exhausted ... it's been a really long and tiring week - having to prepare for a presentation in the beginning of the week for one of the subject ... then having to complete all the readings for the 2 classes during the week which I'm attending, on top of touching up on the assignment that is due this week.

The week is far from over - a major national event (CCA) is coming up tomorrow and I'm leading worship for it - got to meet for practice in the morning and stay until probably early evening? Then after that got to rush down to the east end for a friend's wedding party. Sunday as usual would be grocery shopping day cum bathe dog, bathe cat, bathe car day =( Thank God this Sunday we are free to attend a church of our choice, otherwise another half a day "gone".

I dread to think about next week too - the piles of monthly Bible reading journals which the girls will be submitting to me on Monday. Marking 22 sets of 1 month's worth of Bible reading and rushing to return to them within a day or 2 so that they can continue to record their readings in the journals ...

Well, I'm not complaining - in fact, I'm more than happy to have so many of them choosing 4 months of Bible Reading project over ministry in church. And I have seen many of them writing very good and reflective thoughts as I marked their journals. It's just that the thought of having a pile of 22 journals to complete marking sounds ... scary!

In fact, I was so exhausted that throughout the CCA hour this afternoon, I just felt half my head splitting. Can't be help, not enough adult-student ratio, so can't leave early to rest =( The weather isn't helpful also - so super hot and super sticky ... grumble, grumble, grumble ...

As I think about my physical failure and limitations, I'm just so thankful that God is not like us human, who gets tired, who are constrained by limitations, etc. In fact, Psalm 121:1-4 echos the continuous watchful eye of the Lord, His constant help available, His unceasing strength which we can depend on "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Aren't you thankful that God is not like human, who fail and get exhausted, or at times temperamental and moody?

I hope I'm still writing sense, not dollars, haha ...

Christians - little Christ?

Giggle wrote today ...

Just some thoughts after attending today's "Day of Prayer" at college ...

When Christians were first called "Christians" in Antioch, the term actually implied "little Christ". I guess there and then, the early apostles and followers of the Lord Jesus really took their faith seriously and lived in accordance to all the teachings of the Lord. They were serious in meeting together constantly, praying together, breaking bread together, and most importantly, studying the Word of God. It seems that no part of their lives were outside the influence of God.

But what has happened in our world today? Are Christians still "little Christ"? As in, do we still model and live our lives so carefully that none of our life is outside the sphere and influence of God's reign? Do we intentionally do so? Sadly, this doesn't seem to be so.

We have many young Christians who are 2nd generation, 3rd generation or even 4th generation Christians - young people who are born into Christian families, who were baptized as babies, who attended Sunday School since the age of 3 or so. I often wonder if they do truly know the meaning of "KNOWING" God - that is, not intellectually, but experientially? Well, let's not just "pinpoint" this group, let's also look at the adults - adults who call ourselves Christians, are we living and acting like Christians?

I lament the fact that as I look around, I often see Christians (young or old) taking God's saving grace for granted - I mean, there are real serious ones who really live and testify for the Lord, sharing His love with others, but there are some who just "spoil the market". Knowledge of God becomes reduced to the intellectual aspect, and experience of God seems to be limited only to Sunday, during church worship, a life "with God" is only contain on Sunday and not the rest of the week. What has happened?

There can be altar calls after altar calls and the same person can respond one time after another - but is that response genuine? I mean, if God has seriously touch your heart and caused you to turn in repentance, will you allow yourselves to fall into the same trap and feel sorry all over again, and repeat the whole vicious cycle countless times through? What then is the meaning of repentance? Little wonder why other religion seemed to be doing so well in their "evangelism" and the Christian circle is not. We are just too complacent, or simply put, we are just too comfortable with our own faith to be shaken out to do something for the Lord - we probably think that since God is so gracious, so good, so kind, and the list goes on ... He will understand our struggles, He will be compassionate about our failures, etc? Isn't it?

I believe that somewhere along the line, you probably have heard comments like this before, "If being a Christian is like what this person is, then I rather not - what's the difference? I think comparatively, I'm much better than he or she who call himself or herself a Christan." I'm "coerced" to agree that this is somewhat true, and I believe this is also why we often fail in our evangelism, perhaps? We focus too much on the "evangelism" (aka the "act" of (one-time) sharing the Gospel with non-believer) itself that our lifestyle don't speak coherently with what we are preaching. When we preach, we act "Christian", excited to share about our faith; but when we don't preach, we act so "unchristian".

Christians - little Christ? Are we truly little "Christ" - or have we cause our Lord to suffer shame because of our selfish ways of life, because we are just not willing to step out of our comfort zone and allow Him to direct it in the way He wants. Or are we scared that He will tell us to do something that we don't like to do - then maybe our understanding of God needs fresh enlightenment. God is not a sadist - He need not save you and me out of eternal condemnation (which costs Him His life!) only to make us "suffer".

Jeremiah 9:23-24 "This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD."

Writing letters

Giggle wrote today ...

My lecturer said something this morning during class which got me thinking ... She said nowadays with all the technology availability (SMS, MMS, MSN, emails, and the list just goes on), we no longer take time to write letters - letters that are so personal and that warms the heart of the recipients.

In fact, in biblical times, letter-writing is the only way of corresponding and staying in-touch with one another. There is much worth in letters themselves - just think about it ...

1) During those times, writing material is not cheap, and to pen a letter speaks of your heart's intention, sincerity and love to those you want to correspond to.

2) When we write letters, we need to phrase our words properly so that it carries the meaning of our intention - that requires efforts to think deeply, on the part of the writer, and carefulness in writing as each word is being hand written.

3) There's no such thing as instant connection then, letters are usually courier (not the courier we understand this day such as DHL, or FedEx) by someone travelling on a journey to the destination and it can take days, weeks, or months. Even when postage stamps are invented, sending a letter takes a while too.

So what has happened in our time? We have become such "instantaneous" people that we get impatient when we don't receive immediate replies from those we want to hear, isn't it? Then, we become so used to abbreviations or sms-language that words become so "cheaply substituted" - just because we want to shorten our text, or just because we assume the other party understand what we intend to communicate. Of course, there's the very "impersonal" mode which we choose to use - everything becomes so set in technology (think about it: how much time do you spend in front of all the technical devices and how much time do you spend with people?) Then, because of all the typing we have been doing, we are now unable to write legibly, or perhaps even, having the patience to complete writing what we need to write.

Gone were the days where we look forward to receiving letters from pen-pals of different countries ... gone were the days where we look forward to writing another letter to update our pen-pals the exciting things we want to share with them ... gone were the days where we receive personalized letters, addressed to us, and which warms our hearts ...

Technology is good, but if it takes the "humanness" out from us that we become like these technical devices in our relationship with others or our lifestyle, then I think we need to stop and ponder how to get our "humanness" back. Have we lost our "human touch"? I'll leave you to ponder and reflect ...

On a side note, friends feedback that my posts are very long (haha, may I "argue" that it's also because I chose a normal size font as opposed to those small ones) =P Anyway, this blog is meant to share lessons learn and reflections, and I can't shortchange it by not stating my case before I make my conclusion, can I? =) Therefore, please bear with me, and if you have found this blog encouraging and spurring for you, please feel free to share it with others. Don't worry, no names will be mentioned here, the purpose is NOT to highlight persons, but what God wants to teach us, and what we need to learn.

The rose

Giggle wrote today ...

If you walk with eyes open, looking at the things around you, you will discover many lessons God can teach you through them. I was walking past a florist when I saw all the lovely flowers along its corridor. The red roses somewhat capture my attention (well, I do have soft spot for roses - they're nice, don't you agree?)

Some people commented that you can tell whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist by the way they "define" the rose ... Do they ask why there are thorns on the stalk of rose, or do they give thanks for the thorns on the stalk of rose. It depends on what they see - the pricky thorns, or the beautiful flower itself. If the former, then they are most likely to be a pessimist, if the latter, then they are likely to be an optimist.

I'm not sure if you have come across this song "The rose"? Quite an "old" song - haha, my era one =) but I love the lyrics and the tune of the song. Here it is ...

The rose (by Amanda McBrooomfrom the soundtrack to "The Rose")

sung by Bette Midler

Some say love, it is a river

That drowns the tender reed

Some say love, it is a razor

That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger

An endless aching need

I say love, it is a flower

And you its only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking

That never learns to dance

It's the dream afraid of waking

That never takes the chance

It's the one who won't be taken

Who cannot seem to give

And the soul afraid of dyin'

That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely

And the road has been too long

And you think that love is only

For the lucky and the strong

Just remember in the winter

Far beneath the bitter snows

Lies the seed that with the sun's love

In the spring becomes the rose.

Although this song is not under the category of "Gospel songs", but I'm very "inspired" by the meaning behind it. In a way, I felt it expresses the fact that although in life there might be hardships along the way, but the sun (God) is there to provide all that the seed needs in order to grow and bloom. And the song also encouraged me not to be afraid of failures, to dream dreams, or to take chances - we only live once, and we really have to depend on God's wisdom so as not to live with regrets.

James 1:2-4 also reminds us to "Consider it pure joy, my brothers (sisters included too =), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

So if there's trials or hardships - remember the rose, not the thorns. Remember the beauty you can admire, not the pricks you will get.

Feel free to share your comments on this song if you have any. And for those who know me, if you want to hear the song, let me know - I have it, DEFINITELY! =)

Prefect = perfect ... pastors' kids = perfect kids ... ?

Giggle wrote today ...

When someone is given a leadership role, do we expect them to be infallible? It seems that the way our society shapes the beliefs of our young generation these days is that "we must strive for success, and you must succeed".

Yes, it's good to always encourage people to give of their best and to strive for success, but unfortunately, our society don't seem to teach people how to deal with failures, isn't it? Just read about the number of rising cases where young kids are seeking counseling or suffering depression because they felt they had not done well, or at least not up to their parents' expectation - and to a certain extent, they have "failed".

My heart always goes out to some student leaders whom I knew tried their very best yet still made mistakes (unintentionally) while executing their duties. It's very heartbreaking to hear of adults giving critical comments about how can they make such mistakes, why are they selected if there are better ones than them, etc, etc. Shouldn't we show them where they have gone wrong and help them improve, instead of being overly critical? I don't mean we should condone their mistakes but there's a place for teaching and discipline, with LOVE.

Student leaders, or most often called prefects, are not PERFECT - they are still learning and growing too - why have we become so critical that we are like what the Bible describes "seeing the speck in other people's eyes and not noticing the log that is in our own eyes"? (Matt 7:3-5)

In the same way, sometimes we are very "cruel" to our Pastors' children as well, aren't we? Just because they are pastors' kids, we expect them to be prim and proper, to behave well, or to behave in a certain way. I've known of many pastors' kids who just want to be themselves - I mean, they ought to be given the fair chance to grow like other children - so what if there's teenage rebellion, that's a phase all teenagers have to go through and learn for themselves, allowing God to use that phase to shape them too.

Why are we always so critical about how others should behave, and yet not paying attention to how or what sort of model we are setting for them? There's a Chinese saying that goes something like "If the top beam is not straight, the beam at the bottom will be slanted too" (MOV - my own version/paraphrase). If we as adults are so critical about them, how do we expect them to learn graciousness towards others? How do we expect them to grow and pick themselves up on their feet again after they have fallen? A helping hand is what they need, not a snub.

This society has enough of critics, let's raise up more gracious persons ...

Chauvinists

Giggle wrote today ...

Do you think chauvinists still exist in this modern society? To my surprise, after weeks of visitation to some religious sites, my conclusion is "Yes, they do!"

Firstly, there are some institutions that will not give official positions to a particular gender as their leaders, although they don't mind this group helping them or working alongside with them, etc. Then, there are others who simply don't give opportunity at all to this group of people.

Well, maybe I'm a bit extreme, but for lack of better terms, I will call them chauvinists! Hey, what age are we living in, why are people still so conservative??

I believe in the eyes of God, there is no one gender that is better or stronger than the other - each has its own role and each has its own calling that God wants them to fulfill. Well, for the ladies, the Bible does teach on how a woman should behave or conduct herself, and yet at the same time the Bible also affirms men's authority as head of the household. Other parts of Scripture gives a good balance too that while women are encouraged to be submissive, men are to love them as Christ has loved the church - sacrificing Himself for it. So it's a check and balance thing - neither is more superior than the other.

I guess the whole issue here is: what is the center-mark, such that we don't become too conservative and "deprive" or "stifle" someone of their growth because of all the man-made systems, yet on the other hand, keeping tabs such that we don't fall into the other extreme of becoming or acting too superior. Am I making being coherent here?

I do subscribe to the belief that there should be mutual respect on the part of both sexes - neither should overpower or put the other down. And I do subscribe to the fact that man is still the ultimate authority over a woman. I think in the battle of the sexes, it's difficult to really put down in concrete terms how much freedom should be given to the women, how much should they be allowed to speak up, etc.

We need God's wisdom - whether the male or female gender, to know how we should relate to one another, so that in everything we do, we are building each other up, rather than tearing one another down. So whether to speak or not to speak, to lead or not to lead - all these are secondary issues, the underlying principle should be based on what Scripture teaches, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" - 1 Thess 5:11 and "Honor one another above yourselves" - Romans 12:10b.

Let us always be on the lookout that what we do don't stumble or stifle another.

Stiffened fingers

Giggle wrote today ...

WOW, I finally got the music scores for Pachabel's Canon in D - thanks to one of my student who knew that this is one of my favourite, favourite, favourite piece =)

Well, I wasted no time getting to the piano and learning as much as I could, definitely. The piece was relatively manageable although the score was 5 page long - well, at least the entire piece contains no black keys (aka sharps and flats).

The beginning of the piece was fairly easy too ... until it comes to the part where it becomes double time and your fingers literally need to move in such a fast motion. WOW, that was what got me - which makes me realized my fingers had kind of "stiffened" =(

Playing classical pieces and playing contemporary music is just so different - in contemporary music (or what we usually play for church worship services, etc) just playing chords or fill-ins will kind of suffice, but classical pieces are different - it requires you to play note for note, and sometimes the composers are so inspired to write the notes in such super fast timing, or scale-like kind of movement (aka moving up and down the scales) that it really test the flexibility of your fingers!!

The entire experience reminded me about how learning an instrument and constantly practicing for it is similar to our intake of the Word of God. If we stop feeding on the Word or we stop doing what God's Word says, then after a while, we will become hardened in our hearts - just like how I felt my fingers "stiffened" because I had stopped playing classical pieces for years!

May we be reminded to always feed on the Living Word and put what we hear into practice as the Lord exhorts us in James 1:22-25 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."

Well, I'm still practicing this favorite piece - I'm sure I will be able to play the entire piece one of these days (hey, I'm more than half-way through =) and my "stiffened" fingers will once again become flexible on the keyboard again =)

Haha, what a day ...

Giggle wrote today ...

Hmm... it's an interesting day today ... Oh well, I've kind of "recovered" from my moodiness =) - thanks to those who had sent me messages and encouragements, and of course to God who is ever faithful and patient with me when I'm in my "tantrum" mood towards Him =)

So relax ...
This morning's lesson at theological college was quite light and relaxed - after all the weeks of learning to look at one case study from different perspective, some of which are kind of "over the head" =P For once, my brain wasn't fried =) And it's great to have lecturers who inject humor here and there during lessons, and who's also interactive and willing to receive our "stupid and funny" questions, taking all our nonsenses =P Of course there are also lecturers who are "prim and proper", who makes you "feel" that you need to phrase your questions "theologically", and give "politically correct answers", or otherwise "hold your peace" kind :o) - I guess it's a check and balance and we need a variety of different personality otherwise we might "zao-fan" =)

Then it was chapel after lessons and since I'm on duty every Friday, there's no escape *wink*. Fortunately, my wonderful friend was there on the piano, and me accompanying him on the keyboard. Heehee, with him around, I don't need to fear I can't play or whatever, coz like what he always say "Why worry, I'll cover you." =) Thanks. Whenever he plays, I'll always feel relaxed. *Grin*

So embarassing ...
Well, had to come back to school after lessons at college to attend to CCA. As usual, I park my car at the front gate instead of the back gate since I know that CCA's going to end late and we don't want to hold up the guard at the back gate waiting for us to clear the school. Well, lots in the front gate are all taken up and since we usually double-park each other, that's what I did also - but I remembered checking to see if I will possibly inconvenience anyone before locking the car and moving to my office.

And then, guess what? My colleague from general office was trying to get me on my mobile, and before I could return the missed call, I heard the announcement over the school's PA system, "Ms .... we need you to move your car now as it's blocking a lorry that is trying to get out." Oh my! That was so embarassing - over the PA system and the whole school heard it! =P I immediately hoped there is an underground hole to swallow me up.

Well, the story goes ... as I went to move my car, where's the lorry? No lorry! Apparently it managed to "wriggle" its way out without hitting any vehicle. Mine, it's so embarassing ok. And after that, I had my colleagues teasing me and one male colleague was laughing his head off - and when I met him again at the corridor, we just burst out laughing =)

So sad ...
Then it was time for CCA - we had our prayer meeting and I showed the girls a movie, which my lecturer screened in class some weeks ago. It was a short clip which feature father and son relationship. It was pretty sad - watching how the father agonizes for his son to respond to his love, waiting patiently for his son, cooking meals after meals for his son, hoping his son will take time to speak with him, etc. The only "regret" is that the movie's produced in Hokkien, but fortunately there's English subtitles.

After watching it, the girls all said, "So sad ...", "So poor thing ..." I was hoping that the girls could get the message - not just about parent-children relationship, but also relating the movie to our relationship with God. Thankfully, with some help and prompting, they managed to think and learnt what I hoped they would. I got them to do some reflection and write down what they felt and learnt and challenged them to really put the lessons learnt into application. I sincerely hope that what was learnt will not be forgotten ...

So fun ...
Well, time with the girls are always fun =) They had to sit for a short "test" because of some badgework requirement and after that the older ones helped to mark the scripts of their juniors, plus their own. I was with the older ones guiding them in the marking of the scripts. I know most of them had fun marking - hopefully some will be inspired to be teachers =P And when we needed to wait for one of them to tally and record the marks, we became a bit "bored" that we began telling each other lame jokes, laughing over them, and playing really lame games. But I had fun, and I guess they too =)

God surely know that we need checks and balances in our life - and He has a unique sense of humor too =) Isn't it contrasting between relaxing and embarassing, sad (solemn) and fun? But in everything, God's hand is there, and His presence is there too!