Religious extremists in our world

All my life, I have been spoiled by peace and harmony, brought up in a loving environment where children's welfare and education were viewed as family's top investment priority. I grew up believing that the sky is the limit and I can be what I aspire and dream to be. Having been born at a time that Malaysia did not experience any wars or social unrest, I view all mankind are good and kind. I believe there is goodness in everyone. I was taught to respect others religions and practices and keep my religious convictions and beliefs to myself and to practice among those who subscribe to it. After all, religions can never be forced upon anyone. Even within a family, the parent could instill and inculcate the love for their belief and religion but to make decision on behalf of the children is next to impossible. Such is the peace and harmony that I have come to know and claim to be my constitutional rights. Peace-loving, harmony-respectful, that is what we represent and we are. 

But it seems lately, all that we hear in the news media is the contradiction of our belief system, against what we have been taught and against what our constitution upholds. The world as a whole have seen more terrorism coming out from various extremist religious groups, there is one religion that stand out in all these extremists stories. They are causing suffering among other religions, they create fear among all who hear their name. It makes all religious teaching for love, forgiveness a mockery in the face. As to respect to the human race, none. As  to their worship of God, they are worst than those who do not believe in God.

How could things go so wrong ? Why is their so much hatred on others ? Why pick on one religion ? Where is God when these things are happening against His people ? Have we angered him and we left us to suffer under man? So many questions and no one is able to answer.

Where is justice when we need it ? Where is the world's self professed policeman ? Why do they not police all these violent and killings ? Where are all the super heroes? Even in social media, aside spreading the errie video footings of the killing, there have been very little comment by the keyboard warrior ?

I am guilty as charged. I have been silent on this killing and protesting. I have been avoiding the topic and refuse to comment on the postings that I see everyday. 

In far away land, christian brothers and sisters were killed in mass, they are suffering on a daily basis. They did no wrong but treated as criminals. Closer to home, we have been restricted in calling God as "Allah" in Peninsular Malaysia, but we could God "Allah" in Sabah and Sarawak. This has sparkled some many jokes about our Bahasa Malaysia Alkitab obtained from Sarawak, brought over to Peninsular Malaysia for personal usage, so is that legal ? Questions that are too stupid to even answer them. 

I am really torn apart by the suffering, it grieved me to see suffering, part of me is so angry and furious, how could this be allowed to happen again and again ? Part of me is very helpless, is there something that I could do to soothe the pain of those who suffer or stop all these brutality ? What are we to make sense of these madness ? I even want to question God, "Where are you Lord ?" I know You are right there among their midst, you are suffering among them. I wish the flesh-eating disease will spread among them fast and wipe them out, I wish thunder will strike them all dead, I wish to see the wrath of God come upon them as in the Old Testament days when the Lord God was mocked and insulted. I wish. But I am such evil person myself to have harbored such evil thoughts. 

How can I make sense of the sufferings that are happening to God's children in other places ? What can I do to the constantly endangered brothers and sisters in Christ ? Could I do nothing ? Without emphathy or turn a blind eye to all these cruelty ? What is the Christian's right response to all these ?

God is not blind nor is He deaf

Of the sufferings of His Children in His Name
Hope will prevail among His Children that He is still on the throne

The following remarks come from Coptic Christian Bishop Antonios, speaking on behalf of the
Ethiopian Church regarding this latest butchery of Christians who refuse to accept Islam:

[W]e continue to look at these events with the eyes of faith. The chain of martyrs has not finished, and will accompany the whole history until the end. Christians do not seek martyrdom, they want to live in peace and joy. But if martyrdom comes, it is comforting to see that it can be accepted with the same peace which was accepted by the Copts who pronounced the name of Christ and they relied on Him as they were being slaughtered. The Church has never complained of martyrdom, but has always celebrated martyrs as those in whom, while they are being killed, the great and consoling victory of Christ shines.

 http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/christians-accept-execution-rather-than-islam/

My long-suffering mother

Mum was hospitalised early this week on Monday early morning 5 am. It was another one of her episode of fighting with fatigue that came with penumonia, lung infection and chesty coughs full of phelgm. This time, there was a concern that she could not talk or respond really well and she has been choking on her food for the past few days before she took the cough syrup and became drowsy for half a day. Stroke was the chief suspicion. 

Life in and out of hospitals, regimental dialysis of blood, three times of week, that has been the lifestyle of my mum since she was diagnosied of renal failure in 2003. In fact, she was diagnosed too late and they caused her many complications and she was bed ridden for more than 6 months. Mum has been a strong survivor in adversary conditions of her health. In the worst moments of  her health, she fought the strongest battle, she would not give up. God has been merciful to her and to us, granting her another opportunity of living, again and again.

I got my thinking cap on, and I am thinking :

When it comes to my turn, will I be that strong ?

What happens when mum gets really tired and giving up and how soon is that day ?

What happens to  dad when mum leaves him behind for her glorious home ?

What is it that cause God to bless one with long life but in poor health ? Is God responsible for this ? I doubt it. 

I do not think I have a defnite answer to these questions. I do not know the reason for her triumphs again and again and I do not know how long is this going to be. Seeing her weak, frail and sickly is sad and it seems she suffers a lot. But, between her and her Maker, I believe there is a purpose for her suffering, only God can  make sense of the sufferings. God has definitely grants my mum the desire of her to stay longer despite how bitter and painful her body is giving her. God has a purpose to allow her to be with us, a little bit longer, day by day, month by month.

Ever since mum fallen really ill in 2003, we have stopped planning holidays as a family. Dad has hardly been to any away-from-home trip. He only went few times away due to church group visitations. Otherwise, dad would refuse to travel with us, leaving mum behind. I guess, this illness makes us children realise how deep is his love for mum which we thought was non-existence when we were younger, given that they quarrelled quite a fair bit. Growing up, I thought I had quite a miserable family life, that my parents were not that loving to one another, occasional spells of quarrells were norm of the days. 

Little did I know, most families if not all, have their own set of problems, some got resolved (like ours), some went separate ways (parents divorced or separated right after the kids grown up), some fell apart (children against parents). Ours is considered quite an Okay family, We are still quite united as one front when we experience any problems !

Since young, I remember mum as a strong lady of purpose and intentions. She did things purposefully. She and dad worked really hard to bring us up and saved every cents for our purpose. We could attribute her renal failure to her poor health choices. But being poor, she did not have most of the luxury we are having today and she would have tasted very little of fast food. Yet, she has gotten sick again and again.

Lessons I could learn from my mum are :-

• Life is unpredictable, handle it with grace. One really do not know what is to become of us in the near future or distant future.
• Portion of our grace matches the needs of the day that we have. This is sure promise of God. He will provide the portion of grace to overcome our problems.
• Don't give up on life until God asks you to give up, then we know it's time to go home.
• Not all questions have answers on earth but in heaven, we will understand why.
• Cherish life moment by moment. You cannot have life at the larger picture, you can't have it all.  But for each precious moment, treasure it.
• Health is a personal affair, everyone has his or her stage and issues. Each is to fight his or her own battle in health.
• In sickness and suffering, God is still there with us, holding us in His palm and protecting us.
• Guardian angels work the hardest in hospital where one battle for life and we are utterly dependent on the doctors and nurses to make the right decision to make us alive.
• When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. In the deepest pit and hardest moment, we rise up the strongest.
• Family is the most important thing in life; everything else we have and do are secondary. Therfore, we must give our family life priority in this community.

I love you, mum. You are a life-changer for our family. You set us on higher ground. You live for us to live in full while you emptied yourself for our sake.

H.A.L.T Tips of Parenting

Parenting is hard because sometimes you will be appraised on the spot by your own kids. Out of no reason, they may scream and shout,refuse to cooperate, throw their tantrum, challenge your decision,c all your names and the list can go on. When this happens, it is wise to calm down and quickly assess the kids situation and ask yourself four basic questions and save your parenting dignity ! It comes in an acronym "HALT" to mean Hunger, Anxiety, Lonely and Tiredness.  

First, check if they are Hungry. A hungry man is an angry man. This saying holds true. Somehow hunger causes our kids to be frustrated and any hunger pang is exaggerated. In any outing or travelling, it is good to have some snacks ready especially when they are younger. The younger they are, this hunger issue is real. Just think of how babies cry when they are hungry! It is very often the cause of tears and screams. You will observe, generally, right after a good and happy meal, kids are more teachable, for a little while. So you could have just finished Dim-Sum and driving home, perhaps that is the best time to discuss the upcoming tuition timetable provided it does not provoke vomiting due to violent objections from the kids. 

If hunger is not an issue, take time to find out if they are Anxious about something. The things that a child is anxious about is totally real to them and it must be resolved. You could be on the way to tuition and the child is anxious about the tutor's expectations and how he could fail that subject. May be he is getting anxious of his pimples and losing his self-esteem. Driving is a golden time to discuss things and issues. Inside a moving car, it is the next best time to talk compared to the "Pillow-Talk" time. So seize the moment if your child opens up his anxiety to you. Do not disregard it as childish, Spend time to reassure them of your parental assessment and affirmation that it is okay no matter what. 

"Are you lonesome my dear ?" could be a question to ask our kids. In the midst of the classroom full of kids; on the dance floor of jumping kids; in a bus-load of youth outing; and yet for some reason, our child could feel Loneliness. Loneliness is not the absence of friends surrounding us. It is the lack of like-minded friends, buddies who understand, who will stand for us. Doing things alone takes the joy of the doing. Loneliness, sometimes  is a measure of their self-worth. Generally, poor self-image kids will feel loneliness more. They tend to isolated themselves away from other kids.

Lastly, know that when they are Tired, it is futile to discuss anything significant or life-changing topic. Typically, at the end of school day, at the close of the tuition class, when they come out of exam hall, the kids are worn out mentally and physically. If coupled with hunger, that be a worst scenario. But, there are times, right after they wake up, they still feel tired due to burdens of thoughts, bad dreams and so forth. Silence seems to be a sign of fatigue. The best tip to handle tiredness is just to let them sleep and rest. It is of course best if food is offered first.

Here are the golden questions of parenting. Get them right and detect them fast, you will be in control most of the time. This is how you raise well-mannered kids who will carry out the routines of the day with a happy mind. They will be more obedient and obliging kids. It will also save a lot of heart-acne, avoiding and cutting bad moments from parenting.

Note :- About 630 Words

RIAM Method - How to do Scoping ?

Rapid Impact Assessment Method (RIAM) is a method that requires disciplines of scoping and analysing each issue one at a time. It shares similar principle of surveying science of whole to part. In surveying, we look at the overall picture, land area and cover from the larger to the in-situ area. We first recky (pre-survey) the area, get the starting survey point from another approved lot and we bring it to the area we want to study.

Whole-To-Part Principle - The Scoping

In RIAM, we begin with the overall picture and asking the overall strategic questions. Questions that could be even external factors to the issue of concern. In RIAM, this is the scoping process, the first of the assessment and this is an important stage. Scope wrongly, you will get incorrect assessment. Scope too broadly, you get everything under the sun as an issue of concern which could be too tedious to run through all in a matrix. Scope too narrowly, there will be issues omitted and overlooked, and it does not reflect the true picture of the situation.

During scoping process, ask if there is possibility of options or What-If scenarios to be considered, External factors that could are affecting the issue but cannot be taken into the assessment as the core issues. Be it development or policy options, there are :-

before and after scenarios, 

choices of materials and methods (options)  

possible external factors

What are the issues affecting the topic under assessment ? Under each of the category, list down components that are affecting the overall assessment.

PC

• Will this policy or development option affect any item in the physical and chemical spheres of the earth ? 
• Water quality, Permanent Constructions, Depletion of forest, Land Clearance, 
• Is there a possibility of  using green technology ?

BE

• What are the biological elements that are affected ?
• Any Birds, animals, tree species affected ?
• Rivers and sea pollution
• 
  

EO

• Will there be expenditure incurred ?
• Will the income be affected in the future ?
• Will the lifestyle change ?
• Will there be change in job opportunities ?

SC

• Will there be change in social status of the people ?
• Will there be migration and integration of people ?
• Will there be cultural changes ?

For each of these questions, list down the components that will be impacted by the changes due to topic in consideration. Take the case of a land development happening and the components scoped are likely to cover :-

PC

• Change in water quality during development
• Change in forest area due to land 

BE

• Change in animal species moving out
• Change in migratory birds coming in
• Change in biodiversity 
• 
  

EO

• Cost of dvelopment
• Cost of maintenance
• Change in income due to development
• Change in job opportunities 
• Change in lifestyle

SC

• Change in social status of the people
• Change in migration and integration of people
• Change in cultural values

Sometimes, there is External Factors that cannot be in the component listing but definitely need to be considered such as Impact of economic recession on the budget allocation.

Note :- 511 Words

Let me introduce you to RIAM

Today, I would like to introduce something simple and interesting to you. It is a method to analyse conditions and situations. The details of the method is systematic and it has a pattern, a bit like grammar and syntax, it almost like a language. It is like a mathematical formula applied to any conditions and allow you to compare results and consequences.

It is an analytical tool to weigh out consequences of change impacts. It is suitable to compare options and What-If scenarios. Hence, it is useful in impact assessment.

Why do we need another new tool when there are so many out there ? Well, assessments can be expensive and it costs money just to find out something as viable or not, there is a limit to how much one can spend on the assessment stage. Assessment is not accurate when there is lack of data (which is related to costing). Most assessment like our seminar evaluation has 3 or 5 points system, majority will just pick the middle point. The assessment score is likely to be :-

3 Range Score :-
1. Good
2. Average
3. Bad

or

5 Range Score :-
1. Excellent
2. Good
3. Average
4. Bad
5. Very Bad

Either way, it still does not give the full picture of the situations.

This method addresses these two issues on costing and score. It is relatively cheap, possible to assess with little data (improve as you have data), results are categorised in range value to answer questions like

1) How large is the impact area ?
2) How significant is the impact ?
3) Is the impact permanent ?
4) Is the impact reversible ?
5) Is it cumulative / synergistic impact ?

These questions are not yes or no answers. You have to answer them one by one. Hence, it is a focused impact analysis, one at a time, not influenced by the other scores. Each component of impact is given its own space to be analysed. It is a discipline to learn not to generalise components into similar issues and mark them the same. On top of these, as you do the assessment, you are to record down the reasoning, justifications and facts that you know about that scenario. This allows the marking to be reviewed or revisited by another person or in future when more data is available.

This method is called RIAM, short for Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix. This method begins with Scoping exercise. Scoping is the process we identify components, options that impact the case we are assessing. We identify four categories of components and options :-

Physical Chemical PC
Biological Ecological BE
Social Culture SC
Economic Operations EO

We discipline the mind to go through each category and ask questions that are relevant to this category. Once, they are listed down, it will form the overall matrix of this assessment. This method is good to evaluate and assess the following conditions :-

1) What-If Scenario - Before and After, With policy and Without Policy
2) Options - which is better

Once the marking is completed and justification and reasoning recorded, it is possible to plot a graph depicting what is happening in PC, BE, SC and EO environments. The score range has negative values and that corresponds to negative impacts.

Note :- 551 words

Dear Future-Me

Dear Future-Me,

I send greeting from your past and hope that this letter will find you healthy and well. More importantly that you are able to find fulfillment in life. Congratulations for getting where you are today and becoming who are you ! It is a great achievement I am sure. It is wonderful feeling to be alive.

Since you are in the future, you will have known all the mistakes that I have made and shortcomings I made, I just pray that you will forgive me for being negative in the mind, harsh on the body, junk food and weight I have piled on you, laziness and procrastination that have caused much failures in your life thus far.

I guess this is just a confession letter, to make peace with the past and future, to pull ourselves together ! Here are the mistakes that I have made and I hope you will not continue on making them or have got rid of them.

Living life too fully. I have tried to cramp everything into my life, alas, I forgot that everyone has 24 hours a day and there is no extra bonus for those who filled up 24 hours with too many things. There was little catching of breath, 15 minutes gap between one activity to the next. The feeling is just not enough time.

Compromising Sleep. I lost this big time ! I prided myself that I do not need much sleep that I am an "owl" and rising late during the day is my speciality. Well, I have learnt that 3 hours sleep lost is not recoverable with 3 hours sleep. It will take longer and more nights to recover what I lost. In the beginning, I could not go like 48 hours to 72 hours with literally no sleep and only slept at the 60th hours or son. Gone are those days that I could do it. The brain also fail to function fully when I am lack of sleep.

Thinking Health can be bought or recovered later. When I have more time, I will go to the gyms or pick up one exercise. There is no better time than make time for it if it is important to you. I learnt that successful people put healthy as priority number 1 and that means they will wake up at 5am everyday just to fulfill their exercise quota before they start the day and enjoy the rest of food.

Indulgence is addictive. Any form of indulgence be it, food, drinks, snacks, chocolate, facebook, social media, blogging (ops!), too much of anything is simply addiction ! Once you are addicted, you have a problem to resolve.

Procrastination has dragging effects. The down side of procrastination is you drag on too long and you outdo yourself in the list of things to do. Like, you waited for a better time and commitment to start taking dietary supplement and then it expired ! There is never a better or best time ! The moment is now and act now is the best !

Here are my confessions of my folly and mistakes and sins. Please forgive me and I pray that you have recovered from all these and be well in your soul at this time. Remember everyday is your prime day, your prime time. There is no better day to begin to live better, to love yourself more, to treat your body better !

Note :- 575 Words

The forgetful Teddy Bear – Pinkie Teddie’s Adventure

The forgetful Teddy Bear – Pinkie Teddie’s Adventure

You ask how can a teddy bear be forgetful ?

Well, well, it has got to be Pinkie Teddie, she is always so funkie.

Well, she is not exactly forgetful about things or people.

She forgets about who she is all the time, the funkie Pink Teddie!

She always dream that she is not a Teddy.

She wants to be a boy or girl on any day she wants.

Some days she wants to play dad or mum or just be helpful around the house.

Bake a pie, wash the car, jumping up and down and bounce a ball, build the sand castle and be queen.

Just a list of her favourite things to do, but as always, she is forgetful.

As a teddy bear, she simply cannot do, all these favourite things.

But the playful little Teddy, just always so forgetful.

Once, she was sitting on top of a wall, she forgot that she just a Teddy and she tried to jump down.

Pinkie closed her eyes, gathered her strength and took a brave jump.

Pinkie Teddie came crashing down, foot first, head follow, hands in the air, tumbling down.  It was quite a sight.

For she thought she can be like a little girl, make a jump and land on her feet.

Just the other day, she saw a junior boy playing bouncing ball. She forgot that she just a Teddy and wanted to join in.

The boy threw the ball at Pinkie, she put out her tiny hands to catch it.

The ball went direct into her face and hit her hard.

Pinkie was nearly knocked over, she felt dizzy and a bump in head.

For she thought she can be like a little boy, catch the ball and throw it back.

During the family picnic, she saw the children buidling sand castle just beside the beach.

She forgot that she just a Teddy and wanted to build one too.

The children passed Pinkie a bucket and a spear, Teddie went straight to dig in the sand.

Suddenly, the strong wind blew and the sand flew high, blowing Pinkie with sands all over.

For she thought she can be like the children, build a sand castle and watch it dissolve by the sea.

One day, mum was baking in the kitchen. Pinkie Teddie smelled the gorgeous food

She asked to bake a pie, mum said, “ You are just a Teddie. You cannot do baking.”

Pinkie climbed up the ktichen bench, knocked a bag of flour over,  bear and flour all over.

Pinkie had flour all over her body. It was such a mess.

For she thought she can be just like mum, bake a pie once in a while.

One sunny day, dad was washing his car. Pinkie Teddie came running wanting to help.

She asked to hold the hose, dad said, “You are just a Teddie. You cannot get wet.”

Pinkie hid behind the car, and waited till dad splashed the car.  She got all soaking wet.

Mum has to send Pinkie for the dry clean wash.

For she thought she can be just like dad, wash and shine the car.

Note :- 533 words

The Forgotten Dream

The Forgotten Dream

When we were young, among

the first few compositions teachers asked us to do would likely be :-

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  or

“My ambitions”

Sometimes, teachers made us draw our dream and aspirations.

Children are taught to have a dream, a wish list of how things will be in the future.

Students are shaped by teachers to have targets, goals and dreams. Every year, during student appraisal, teachers will check their dreams.

Kids are asked by parents to set wishes upon the star, far and high enough for them chase their whole life through.

Whenever we meet a child, other than their age, we are likely to ask for their dream of what they aspire to be.

To every adults, we know life is just a chasing of the wind, and yet we have to pursue something and it is important where and how we chase our dream.

Dream gives us purpose and sense of being and we know we are just happy chasing a dream and getting there is sweet.

As soon as the composition “My ambition” is completed, submitted and marked, it is forgotten and shelved.

Put away, a little bit like skeleton in the closet. Most of us, will forget that composition for the rest of our life.

We forgot about it when we got our test papers marked. So much energy was on correcting the mistakes made.

We forgot about it when teachers gave us spelling tests everyday for every languages that we learn – English, Chinese and Malay.

We forgot about it when we go to tuitions, one after another, right after schools and weekends too.

We forgot about it when tests and exams are one after another, as if school is all about results shown in our marks.

We forgot about it when we started playing sports, every child dream to be the Star of a sport, all glamour and nice.

Every boy dream to be David Beckham, Ronaldo, Lee Chun Wei. Every girl likes to be a princess and queen of her own rights.

We forgot about it when we played our first games, so addictive, it is just like a game of life.

Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn to hours, hours turn to days and nights, days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months and months turn to years.

Seasons come and seasons go. In the end, life is like a merry-go-round of chasing the wind.

                                                                                                                                                   

No matter what and however we pursue our lives, We end up pursuing our dreams through and through, all our lives, we make a pledge to go nearer to our dream, day by day, slowly but surely.

Only when we have achieved our goals and reached our targets, then we say we have realised our dream. Then we are trully satisfied. Some say its Actualisation !

Some take a lifetime to get there, some has found the short-cut.

Sadly, some never quite made it there, life is too short for them or they have ran out of steam

Note : 512 Words

Dear Younger-Me

Dear Younger-Me,

I write from the distant future to bring you a futuristic survival perspectives of how you could maintain your life and keep going until you get to where I am today, the day that you are 75 years old.

At 75 years old, you will not be worrying about the things that you regard as your core businesses or calling or purpose, whatever you name that to be. At 75 years old, you be happy to live a day at a time, sounds inviting right ? I know that right now, you are living out life to the full, family, career, ministry, social networks and all that. You have it all figured out, sort of, I am sure. But, at times, when one of these cracks and break down, you are terrified and would lose sleep over it. Trust me, the day will come, you don't care about that any more. It shall be thing of the past.

So, what are my advises to my Younger-Me who is pushing to the 50th mark soon ? Well, not many actually, knowing how much a meticulous planner I am (you are), I thought you must have it sorted out somewhere but I could see that you got diverted, your plans halted, changed courses (few times), deteriorated quite a fair bit, you are quite lost now, pushing 50 you see that you are running out of time, out of stamina and steam, feeling very desperate and depressing.

First thing, do not lose your sense of purpose, of who you are, what you are supposed to do as primary purpose. Everything hangs on your identity. Because you could be fighting battles and working hard but it is not for you, you are doing it for someone else, you are fulfilling someone's else dreams and wishes. Never forget your identity as the child of God, daughter of the King, you are put here with a purpose to be of help to your family. Friends and relatives are secondary lines of relationships, never reverse that.

Second thing, after falling, rest for a while then come back up. Remember the Maliau trip, at that young age, your survival instinct was so strong, you never thought of giving up, tired as you were, you never thought of dying there or being left behind in that deep jungle. You went on and one, mindful that you were not causing the team to slow down. Keep that in your mind, like that Maliau trial where your team got lost for 75 hours, you all went up and down, crossing rivers and rivers and more rivers. The whole body soaking wet.

Third thing, take time to celebrate small moments. Life is made up of moments and it is moments that we will cherish till the end of our life. Celebrate that one A achieved by the kid out of the  many subjects of no A. Seize the moment, look for reasons to celebrate, find an excuse, if needed. Cherish the people around you, moment by moment, especially so when you have many priorities.

Fourth thing, never bottle up your feeling and screwing your life too tight. Life is likened like a bottle with a cap. When you are unhappy, do not bottle the emotions and hurts inside and do not arrange your life like a military regime with a thousands one things to protect and defend, fighting every battles. Remember, not all battles are created equal. You need to pick your fights wisely and strategically. When you are too tight with yourself, running by the minutes to the next activity, with no room to spare to breathe, you are screwing up the cap real tight, one fine day, you will over-screw and find that you have no time grip to screw the bottle up.

Fifth thing, let thy food be thy medicine. As far as health is concerned, do not eat for indulgent's sake, eat for pleasure and enjoyment, food must be good to be swollen, do not eat out of not wasting the food, you are not the garbage bin of waste food for the family. Eat moderately and exercise well to get their inner core strength built up. Sleep as your body tells you too. Being an owl personality, I know you do not wish to waste time sleeping but you do realise that once you are overly tired, you are actually wasting your day productive time as your mind work against you and you lose the day too. So, you might as well sleep little, do little during the day.

I look forward to seeing you in your 70's. Be strong, stay healthy, keep the right focus.

Yours lovely,

Self

Note :- 784 words

Death, Death, where is thy sting ?

Death is a awakening experience for those who mourn the loss. To the deceased, everything cease to be. What is left is just to rest in eternity. But to those who surround and mourn, it is a very decisive moment of change in their lives. There is so much to ponder upon. Life freezes at that moment in time, the body and mind felt trapped in a time zone of the living and the dead. Both realms are real and the mind cannot comprehend the void of the heart, crying out.

Death has a way of waking us up, those who attend the Wake, gets a Wake-up Call from life itself. It forces you to stop all that you are doing; stop dreaming, there is no time for that for now; stop being competitive for it is not important; stop hating; stop holding grudges.

Death is grace shown to the living. It reminds them, they still have time, time to mend that relationship, time to seek for forgiveness, time to forgive, time to let go, time to tear down srong holds, time to build up, time to live again !

Death is eternal to the deceased. Everything stops hereafter, there is no more living on this earth but memories linger on, kindness treasured close to the hearts of the loved ones. It does not make one disappear from the earth, yes, in physical state, one is gone, no more ! But in the mind and the heart, the deceased memories lives on and on in the lives of those whom they have touched. The dead will live forever in the hearts.

Death is special to the one and only one who has conquered death, the man who died and rose again, walked on earth again, breathed and ate of earth's harvest. Through that special death, all men are given a chance to be born again and live eternally with Him.

Death reminds of us hope in a reunion in a not so distant future, with all our loved ones, those whom we adored, transcending all generations, meeting and having them all at the same time and and in one singular space. A true transcend experience.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57New International Version (NIV)

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Since death has been conquered by this one man, Lord Jesus Christ, our trust and hope should be on Him and He is more than able to bring us through this life abundantly and into the next in glorious riches. Death is not welcomed but it is inevitable for every living beings on this earth. There is no exception but to all who believe in Him, there is hope and peace in the life ever after.


Note :- 491 words

When its not funny anymore

I learnt that Scotsmen often reply the question "How are you ?" with a straight answer "Not bad.". How bad can life can ? Ask a Scotsman, he will know best. It gives the general idea that life is not excellent at the moment. 

"So I heard you won a lottery ticket of 50,000 pounds !", said one person to a Scotsman.

"Yeah, would you believe it that I have to go down to London in order to get it ?" replied the Scotsman with an unhappy face. Talk about pessimism with style ! Some people just have to remind everyone about how negative life seems to be and that despite winning a lottery ticket, he is still miserable due to the effort needed to receive the rewards.

We can joke about people's negativism and how funny they seem to be, but life does present very pessimistic perspectives at times, it usually comes not just one incident but two or three at one go. It hit you in the face, really hard, just when you try to get up and get over the first incident, the second will come and probably will hit on the same day. Like a blow in the face, it sends one nose breeding and in great shock.

But there comes a breaking point where it is not funny any more. All these bad news happening one after another, similar patterns to overthrow us off life tangent, very unsettling. The pressure in our head feels like exploding. The heart pounding so much harder but the head is still dizzy, there is just no enough oxygen. At this point, we have two ways to go :-

1. Being depressed about it and get sucked into its depth 
2. Fight it out in the mind and win it over 

Depression can sip in quietly like a black dog, stay with us for a while but before we know it, the black dog takes over our life, our reasoning, our mind and our desire. At this point, it is seriously no laughing matter. We will feel life is just mocking at us. It is futile to fight the black dog for it is stronger than us. It is useless to ask it to go away, it will come running back. Sooner or later, Black Dog becomes part of us and interferes with everything that we do.

But we do have a choice. 

Circumstances can kill us or make us. It can build us or tear us down. The winning factor is "Mind over matter". Keep in mind what is priority and important and the rest is sweet victory. Circumstances do not change overnight and it may be get better, but with the correct mindset, we can solve any difficulty in lives. Let the mind tells the body how to think and act, realign its priorities to walk out of the negativism alive and kicking and gaining victory ground bit by bit. We learn to live in harmony with the Black Dog, make friend with it, tame it, train it and we will realise that Black dog can teach us so much about life. It helps us to cope with life. 

Note :- 531 Words

Conversations of Martha and The Lord

Disclaimer : Here is a totally made-up, personalised conversations between Martha and her Lord inside her kitchen on the day the Lord came to visit her. A fictitious account.

After some time the Lord sees that Martha is not in the Living Room and being there with the crowd, He goes into the kitchen to look for her.

Lord : Hi Martha, I see that you are busy. Do you have a spare moment for me ?

Martha's heart skipped a beat, what is he doing inside my kitchen, oh my messy kitchen and all the cooking, smell and unsightly state of the kitchen mess ! Her head is spinning.

Martha : Yes, my Lord. Of course I could make time for you. Anytime for you Lord. Would you like a cup of my special brewed tea ?

Lord : Yes, I would like that, I am a bit thirsty now after telling some parables to the crowd.
The Lord sits there at the kitchen table area and sip in the tea slowly.
Lord : This is very refreshing. I like the herbal taste of it. Its certainly very organic.
Martha smiles. It is not everyday that she gets a special guest to visit her in her "office" where she toils and labours on days and ends to entertain parties people at her home. Her brother and sister and her are very hospitable people.

Martha : I am delighted that you have come to visit our home. I still remember your parables and stories. Mary and I still talk about them some times over meals and just before we sleep. When we cannot sleep, we will tell the story of the Lost Sheep and how the last one has to be found to be complete.

Lord : I am glad you are such diligent students. You know I am very fond of your family. You are like family to me. Lazarus is like a brother to me.

Martha : I wrote a song for you, my Lord. But I am too shy to tell it.

The Lord : Please read it to me.
The Lord is eager to hear what is from Martha's heart.

Martha wipes away flour from her hands and she takes out the piece of folded paper from her pocket. She reads it softly and still shy about it.

The Lord is coming to my home
What shall I prepare Him ?
The feast to fill Him up and the crowd that follows
I must take care of that

The Lord is coming to my home
What do I need to prepare ?
The tables chairs be wiped clean and floors to be shined
I must get that done

Then the Lord gestures her to pause and He continues for her

Martha, I have come into your home
What have you prepared for me ?
Such a feast for me and the crowd
I am much honoured

Martha, you are like family to me
I see how much you have prepared
More important is your heart and be with me
Having my presence in you

Martha understands what the Lord is trying to say.
Marth : I just cannot stay still, Lord, so much to accomplish to get the dinner ready for tonight. I guess someone has to sacrifice. I see that Mary is seated comfortably at your feet. I do feel the urge to ask her to come into my kitchen to help. But I know you want her to be there and you want me to be there too.

Lord : You know my heart very well, Martha. The time will come that I will no longer be with you and that makes my presence now precious and you must treasure and don't let go. Mary has chosen her portion and it will not be taken away from her. How about you ?

Martha : You are always right, Lord. I believe in you. You are the Christ who has come into the world. I will come in and join now.


* Note :- 676 Words

How I remember my Dad

Dad to me is always a pillar in my family. Since young, we reverend him, we adore him. We think he is the smartest and most hardworking man in the world.

Dad always gets up early in the morning, punctuality is his trademark. He was never late in sending or picking us. By this I mean, he would send 30 minutes earlier or arrived 30 minutes earlier to wait for us to finish our events.

Dad is a dedicated man, he is singularly focused on his family. In his mind, he has our best intention planned out. In his eyes, he is set on his family alone.

Dad is a visionary man, he has our future figured out and planned out. He hardly talked about it but he always challenged us to do better, promising that he would do his part to give us the best education that we could get into. And he did this to all four kids.

Growing up, we feared dad a lot. His thunderous voice and his commanding words seized us in fear. His orders was our commands. When he said move, we moved on the double. When he said hurry up, we ran. His patience seemed to run dry each time he saw us. He was really short-fused.

Dad has been very frugal all his life, he saved and saved for his family and kids. He uses very little on himself, almost all in education.

The legacy Dad passes to us are :-

Love for our mum
Growing up, we did not think our dad love our mum much. But now that they both have aged and mum is ill, he takes very good care of her. They are almost inseparable. He would never think of leaving mum behind, especially that she is ill and he has not taken any holidays since she is unwell. His love for her is a true romance.

Orderly Routines
Everything is orderly and runs in routines, driven by commitment and dedication. What is required of him, he will deliver. At the age of 77, he still goes to Sunday market and buy the four items that he has been buying a few decades - Taufu, Rice Dumplings, Chinese Kao and Vegetables. He may be forgetful but his orderly routines are always in place and in rhythm.

Values of Pride and Simplicity
Family pride is utmost importance to him and likewise, family shame is his worst enemy. In all that we do, he measures by this yardstick. We could be doing less or earning less but just do not bring shame to the household. Simplicity is his trademark, if the shirt or pant can still be worn then it should not be thrown away.

Excellence Mentality
Set to do things excellently well. Keep doing until we have accomplished the job well done. It may be out of the way or out of the box thinking but it must be a job completed with excellent results. Something that people will refer back as a breakthrough or new height.

In short, his LOVE for us is singular and deeper than what his words could not express. He is a man of actions and little words. His love language is likely to be Service.

The Story of Martha and her lazy sister Mary

Martha thought of her invitation carefully, making effort not to sound too eager, but it was all-telling, her enthusiasm was just bubbling out. Which of these sounded better ?

"May the Lord has the pleasure to dine at my humble home with my sister and brother ?"
"Lazarus would be so pleased to have your honour of visiting our home, Sir."
"My Lord, I be over-joy and extremely delighted to prepare a meal for you and all the people."

Martha thought about almost the whole day, not a single moment passed that her thoughts was not on this topic of inviting the Lord to her home. What if He says no, he can't come, that he is busy ? Oh, that be so disastrous, for in her excitement she has started preparing the meals menu a week ago and has been changing and drafting up the choices based on her experiences.

That morning, Lazarus woke up really early and so early that Martha was still sound asleep, without telling anyone, Lazarus dashed out of the house and disappeared into the day before dawn. By the time Martha woke up, the maids told her about Lazarus leaving in a haste. Martha was furious and upset, her brother would never leave her and the sister Mary without saying Goodbye. Mother has taught them to part with a kiss and a blessings, everyday, rain or shine. It was like a ritual that the family has kept. And today, Lazarus has broken the family ritual, it seemed.

Before long, Lazarus; footsteps were heard dashing into the family courtyard, he and his friends were laughing really loud, joyously entering the home and calling his dear sisters to come to him. Martha, being the eldest of them all, was in shock. Before she could reprimand him, Lazarus announced that the Lord was coming to their home for supper, that very day, like now he was walking towards the house. Martha froze and went speechless. Mary jumped up and down.

Without a word, her heart was so joyous, the Lord is coming and she did not even have to invite Him, she dashed into her kitchen, summoning the maids to follow her and instructing her brother and sister to join her inside her office "Kitchen". Well, the brother said he needed to prepare the living room area and probably a sleep-over place for the Lord. Mary, she ran into her room and started to choose her best costume to meet the Lord, such vain lady !

In the mind of Martha was her big plan and big heart, that all who enter her home shall not be hungry, how does one begin to prepare food for a party of ten to possibly a crowd of 5,000 ? What about their age gap ? How does one cater for group with ages from 1 to 95 ? She got it all worked out, something soft for the very young and very old, something healthy for the sick, something yummy for the rest. All are taken care of, that was her plan.

Meanwhile, the Lord came into the house, all three siblings stood tall to meet and greet His majesty. Without further ado, Martha asked to be excused to continue with her "office" work at the kitchen ! As she ran into her "office", her eyes saw Mary, seated on the floor, next to the Lord, almost glued to the floor. Martha was not that pleased, she gave her a stare as if she could summon her to work. Mary just ignored her and started to enjoy herself.

Mary seemingly was very lazy. She was being unhelpful to her sister's plans to entertain and serve the Lord. How would the Lord allow laziness among His followers ?

500 Words A Day Writing Project for a month

Is it sheer desperation ? Or frustration ? New Year Resolutions drive ?

I decided to start this project to get my engine going. I just signed up My500Words one month project from 16 January 2015 and I am going to use this blog to keep all my writings in place. Just a challenge and I will follow the suggestions of just write and do not edit (too much). Too often, I think too much and the writings would be delayed or shelved until I forget what it is all about.

Here is my 2015 small project ! I am the Number 1715 sites linked to this project ! Cheers !